Week 9 - Renewable energy

Week 9 – Renewable energy

“When we are able to grow the resources we need, we will finally be on the road to sustainability”

- Gurinder Shahi -

So what is so important about sustainability? Chances are our generation will not live to experience the impacts of global warming, global scarcity or environmental degradation anyway. Indeed, the challenge of sustainable living is not just for us but for the future generations to come, to pass them our home in good, living condition and for our countries and civilization to sustain in centuries to come.

A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in. – Greek Proverb

Perhaps this is one area Singapore is lacking. Singapore prides itself for its far-sighted scenario planning, strategically aligned itself with the global market. Singapore government managed to transform Singapore into an investment hub for MNCs to generate prosperous economy over the past 45 years. It has also developed NeWater, solving the water crisis Singapore had and became a global leader in this industry. However, Singapore appears to be lagging behind in terms of renewable sources of energy and food security. Right now, Singapore has secured some reliable sources of fuel and food but how long would that last? How do we to ensure these good relationships are will be for eternity?

During the session, we went through a video explaining the success of renewable energy for Germany. A country hardly known for its sunshine has been investing so much into such new sources. How can we, as a tropical country with more sunshine than rain not double our efforts? The amount of light energy that falls in our small country is tremendous despite our land size. If only we could harvest all these energy, not only we can have energy intensive industry, we might be able to export it too.

Singapore being a small island is extremely reliant on foreign imports for necessities, thus extremely vulnerable to necessities shortages. The recent water crisis showed us how important it is for us to develop our own unique sources of necessities, especially in an environment that is becoming increasingly resources scare. We did well in developing our own water source but it appears that we are not doing as well in other aspects

Singapore imports 95% of food and 100% of our fuel requirements. This makes us extremely vulnerable to international boycotts and foreign disruptions. Yet, since independence, there has not been a drastic push for self-sustainability despite rapid growth and a huge government surplus. Understandably, developing and implementing new technologies require huge start-up capital, thus the barrier to entry. However, this barrier should not be deterrence for Singapore to develop this industry. Singapore has huge trade surplus, high growth and one of the largest cash reserve given the size. While it is important as the government preaches to hold huge reserve, it is just as important to ensure the sustainability of the country. It is pointless to hoard cash without strategic investments, not just to grow the capital but also to fuel the growth of Singapore in long run. 

Few years back, Singapore pumped in billions into the bio-technology industry, hoping to attract foreign talents and develop cutting-edge technology. If Singapore was able to pump in such high capital for research, why not develop the infrastructure for renewable energy as well? We are a concrete jungle, high sunlight intensity and a constant summer. The height of our buildings coupled with consistent sunlight should ensure good returns on our investment in infrastructure, reducing inflation in long run. Furthermore, efficient solar technology already exists, further reducing the risk of being unable to recoup the capital. Better still, when solar technology is developed in the country, it encourages local research firms to further enhance such technology because the market is already there. Not only it could stimulate growth, secure a position for Singapore in a resource scare further, it can also shape Singapore into a respectable leader despite its size.

There are huge benefits for investing in renewable energy, in particular solar for Singapore but Singapore still lags behind. Perhaps it is due to the lack of awareness and interest by our politic leaders which we do not expect to be the case. Or perhaps right now, it is still more cost-efficient to rely on oil and natural gas supplies rather than renewable energy. Perhaps Singapore already has plans to lay the infrastructure but still waiting for the right moment. Perhaps.

TWC session 7 - Biobusiness in agriculture

Week 7 – Bio-business in the face of agriculture

By a show of hand, who is strongly against GM food and will never eat one? Followed by; but your MacDonald’s, your Heinz Tomato sauce are all made from GM food! This is a simple introduction to how prevalent is GM food in our lives today. And I agree that it is plain stupidity and ignorance to reject GM food totally. Of course GM food has its risk but they have brought us thus far, revolutionized agriculture and provided food for the population that was deemed unsustainable decades back. How can we kill the golden hen?

When we discuss the new age of agriculture, it is almost inevitable that GM food will form the core of discussion. These crops are as though with keyed-in “god-mode”, able to grow in places that used to be impossible, resistant to drought or floods and even resistant to pest attacks. In the harsher and rapid changing climate today, I think GM food is more relevant than ever. Reliable stream of crops provide reliable sources of food for consumers and a reliable source of income for farmers, alleviating their poverty. This benefit alone provides a very strong case for compelling case for GM food because there are hardly any other as efficient alternatives. Risks on the other hand, can be taken and tackled individually, such as extremely strong international regulatory authority to ensure no corporates go rouge and extremely clear labeling for consumers’ awareness. 

Previously before the session, I held a very negative view of GM food companies, in particular Monsanto, the leader of GM seeds. However, during the lesson, some misconception was cleared by Professor Gurinder’s expertise. The misconception was that terminator seeds were created first not to exploit farmers as we all were led to believe by NGOs. Misconception #1 is terminator seeds are not created by Monsanto but by U.S Government. Misconception #2 is terminators seeds were not invented to exploit farmers but to protect the bio-diversity. These “god-mode” crops are much hardier than usual plants, thus they have the ability to squeeze out the natural biodiversity if leaked into the wild. Knowing that it is impossible to prevent any leakage into wild when used in mass quantity, the government made these crops sterile, which is for a very good cause. This cleared my negative view of Monsanto reasonably but even then, with Monsanto past of shrinking from its responsibility of Agent Orange, I believe most people will find it hard to trust Monsanto with our diet. Therefore, I believe it is of utmost importance that government worldwide step up and take the responsibility of ensuring our safety and health effects when we consume GM food. Consequences of rouge companies should not be petty fines but to shut down the entire company. Only then, we as consumers will have the peace of mind. 

Another interesting technology in agriculture raised was in Egypt, a system was created where plants are grown in a self-sustainable container. These containers then can be stacked up and used anywhere, even in deserts. Although I expect the cost of growing such food will be much higher growing it on conventional farms, I think this is a very viable solution to self-sustainability source of food for space-constrained Singapore. Another under-mentioned technology is using good hydroponics and aeroponics. Singapore climate is already suitable for growing crops thus reducing the need for enclosed environment.  Stack them on our roof-top and we can convert our concrete jungle into our arable farmland. If every single HDB’s roof-top becomes a farmland, I believe we can provide at least 30%-50% of our daily vegetables need. It will be excellent if Singapore can pioneer this industry like how we did for NeWater. Given the volatility in today’s market, Singapore cannot merely focus on spectacular growth but also sustainability. Few years back, there was some research into this reported in The Straits Times but up till today, I do not see any significant developments. Perhaps another decade or two might do the trick…

Session 6 - Biobusiness, Healthcare

Session 6 – Bio-business: Healthcare and biomedical

As topic shows, this session was about bio-business from the healthcare and biomedical point of view. This session was particularly interesting because of the depth and surreal atmosphere that surround biomedical advancement. If we were to estimate the progress of biomedical thus far, I will say it is hardly reaching the 1^st quadrant of an exponential curve. And that is why it is so mysterious and full of new surprises and developments.

Despite so; the way Western medicine develops has always been through facts and chemicals. Many medical practitioners still reject the use of traditional or alternative medicine. It is of course understandable given the controversy of the study results thus far showed mixed results regarding the effectiveness and success rates of these alternative medicine. However, because of this, they might be missing out on some very critical clues that might exist in alternative medicine. Take the example of Tongkat Ali by Professor Gurinder, the traditional Malay medicine that boosts virility. Most modern people took it as old folk’s tales and dismissed it as superstition years back. But now, researchers discovered the value behind this old medicine, proved it and promoted it to be a highly-valuable medicine now. This example clearly shows the wisdom left behind by our ancestors. They were not able to name the compound responsible for this miraculous effect as we can now. But they were the ones who applied their daily observations into practical treatments before we do. If we were to dismiss these old wisdoms, how much valuable resources are we losing? 

As compared to New Western system, traditional medicine does not follow the Western convention of x-ray, chemicals, etc. Thus, statistics are often more inconsistent and less accurate. However, this does not necessary mean that they are less effective than the usual treatment. One article in The Straits Times by Senior Editor Ivan Ho brought up a point where research showed that bogus acupuncture produced the same results of pain reduction as real acupuncture. While one can assume that with this report, it shows that acupuncture only has a placebo effect, I prefer to defer my judgment. Many other reports on the other hand has proved the effectiveness of acupuncture, as Professor Gurinder pointed out German researchers have found that drug injected in these acupuncture sites can produce up to 60 times effect. In fact, I will prefer to conclude that acupuncture can be considered as an extraordinary form of treatment with substantial psychological and physical benefit. After all, there are many people in the world who swear by the alternative medicine that treated them. 

The problems with alternative treatments are their abstract concepts that we humans are unable to grasp so far. These superstitious feeling however, might be dispelled eventually as we explore more and understand the basis for such abstract concepts. Thus, I believe there is a huge potential there as we study the basis for these alternative treatment, we might discover a whole new angle of analyzing our body anatomy. Apparently, China shares the same belief. There have been an increasing number of Eastern-Western fusion treatments and researches and if true, the medical edge will belong to those who embraced such possibilities.

Session 5 -ICT

Session 5 - ICT, a driver of change?

This particular session covers one of the closest things to people's heart. Singaporeans and most people around the world, regardless of developing or developed countries are increasingly reliant on ICT as a way of life. It brings us so much convenience that we can't imagine life without these technologies. Yet, we need a lesson on ICT because we took them all for granted.

In particular, cloud computing had drawn a lot of attention recently. Cloud computing is simply storing information and being able to access it anywhere with a connection. Simple as it sounds, it has been such an exciting advancement. It is cutting down drastically on redundant, highly expensive servers, reduce the barrier to entry for any IT-related cost and allowing much more freelance or small companies to gain rapid foothold in the industry. By doing so, it is expanding opportunities to every single individual to explore new creative ideas and business models, giving companies a more even playing field. It obviously beneficial for the economy with cost efficiency and encourage greater innovation.

In the report (https://members.weforum.org/pdf/gitr10/part1/chap%209_economic%20consequences%20of%20the%20diffusion%20of%20cloud%20computing.pdf), it estimates huge cost saving for the industry of up to 5%, possibly generating 1m jobs and accounting for 0.3 per cent of GDP increase in Europe just by adopting cloud computing. Not just that, excitement is that cloud computing generates both temporary and permanent jobs that can greatly reduce the much unwanted unemployment rate.   Assuming this report to be accurate, this is extremely relevant to Europe now! The recent debt crisis in Eurozone is forcing countries to implement harsh, austerity measure to reduce debt. Majority of the measures are extremely detrimental to the economy and are likely to cause slower growth or even prolonged recession in future. While cloud computing is not the miracle pill, by cutting cost through usage of cloud computing is a much more constructive, possibly creating long term cost efficiency and growth. Furthermore, it can generate small amount of temporary jobs that might help to reduce some unemployment immediately. Perhaps the governments are so overwhelmed by the intensity of the crisis that they neglected the more subtle yet long-term approach of doing things, otherwise I do not see any reason why they have not been actively encouraging it since the last recession in 2008.

In conjunction with cloud computing is the increase in productivity gain in ICT/knowledge revolution thus far is about 5x. We covered a couple of reasons in class, mainly because it has yet to ripe and the hereditary structure stiffens knowledge transfer rather than encourage knowledge transfer. Thus, companies start to initiate programmes such as alumni for retirees, mentoring, flexible retirement work schemes, etc. As more companies value these knowledge transfers, I believe it is only a matter of time where all tertiary industry will start to adopt these models.

However, on the other spectrum, employees can be another limiting factor why knowledge advancement has yet to generate the productivity desired. While the hierarchy system must be changed, employees must also now undertake much more responsibility and initiative. Yet, most employees previously in the orders-only positions cannot change instantaneously. Even with an elaborate system in place, it is always been hard for humans to accept change and will quickly be overwhelmed if caught unprepared. Thus, fresh graduates in particular should be equipped with the skill to absorb the information and adapt quickly. Schools should start preparing students to face such an overwhelming world outside and to be able to grab the gist of anything rather mere memory work. After all, the web provides you with the hardest formulas and thickest encyclopaedia within split seconds. Then only, at the bottom of the corporate pyramid, employees can fully utilize the resources and enhance productivity by another 20 folds.

Individual Paper outline

Individual topic review paper

Topic: HTML and its impacts on the world

Executive summary

This report identifies the creation of HTML as a disruptive creation and has thus revolutionized browsers. Thereafter, it had changed the face of internet, creating uses that never existed before and created billion-dollar worth companies. As HTML gets expanded, we are likely to see more amazing impacts on our lives, particularly in field of business. While the report will cover some impacts on other areas, the focus will remain in the field of business. 

Rationale for choosing this topic

This topic was chosen for its continuing impact and still evolving at a rapid rate. Browsers technology had far-reaching impacts on society, business, politics and even environment. Yet, its current capability seems to be far from its limits with the embryotic cloud computing, HTML5 and mobile browsers. Thus, I wish to explore the validity of this statement and how it might possibly shape our lives in future. If the statement is valid, I wish to explore how it might shape the future business environment as this will have a direct impact on our future working environment.  

Introduction

What is HTML, internet and browsers?

How HTML has come about and how it had evolved

Key opportunities/challenges/issues

What opportunities have HTML and browser created for the business world?

• -        Past opportunities created. Examples to be researched
• -        Future “cloud” opportunities
• -        Possible “spinoff” effect from HTML and browser(with or without further development)

What are the damages HTML and browser created for the business world?

• -        Past industries that have been impacted negatively due to this development
• -        Future “valley” industries that can become obsolete, if any

What are the key challenges in the development of HTML?

• -        Who had been the past driver?
• -        Who is the current driver?
• -        Who might be the future driver?

Key Observations

What are the parallel examples we can draw some learning points from?

What other impacts are there on other aspect of society?

Discussion and analysis

Is browser and HTML near peak or yet to reach?

Where is browser and HTML going to be in immediate future, near future and distant future?

What can influence the course of HTML and browser’s development?

What are the key impacts it will cause in society, especially business in future based on our expectations of development in near future?

Conclusion

To decide on the validity of the statement of HTML and browsers’ development has yet to peak and if yes, what are the impacts on business environment.