Hey, guys and gals, show off your intellect and passion for the environment here. Give us the answers for your group work. Remember to indicate your names and PLEASE nothing scandalous please... ")
27 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Group : Tan Tian Kian, Thai Chan Seng, Lim Jian Hui, Ng Wee chun, Tan Kay Wen, Toh Yong Siang
soluiton: personal carbon credits on the cards.
1. It is similar to the carbon tax imposed on the factories. The carbon tax on the factories are not working perfectly but sitll hope to reduce the level of carbon. Hence this personal carbon credit plan is effective to a large extent.
2. It will not work perfectly. - effective but difficult to implement. - high administrative costs - people are mainly profit minded. - difficult to change carbon crdits to moneytary terms. - some areas will be highly polluted and can cause health problems.
3. Main thing needed is the citizens to be supportive of this plan then the govt. can carry it out. High adminstrative costs is needed to carry out this plan.
4. The possible obstacles are people that do not follow the rules and they are not willing to pay that extra tax, thus govt. canoot initiate the new system.
group members: Garry, Mengyik, Yuhui, Yaojie, Yongda and Me
Solutions: act now on global warming
1. what is the world doing about global warming?
Europe and Japan have shown their commitment in reducing global warming by imposing costs on themselves and their producers, even of it places them at a competitive disadvantage.
USA, on the other hand, is doing nothing to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted. Instead, it contributes even more to the amount of greenhouse gases emitted.
2. what did the scientists miscalculate?
The scientists have miscalculated the pace at which the global warming was occurring.
3. what does the writer suggest is the key principle that will motivate the Americans?
The writer suggests that the key principle which will motivate the Americans is market- based incentives.
The incentives serves to induce the Americans to reduce energy comsumption and also to produce more energy in ways that emit lesser carbon.
4. what does the writer mean by a "coalition of the willing"?
The writer means that there is a need to gather nations who aim and are willing to co-operate to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted, instead of wasting time and effort to seek the co-operation of countries who do not want to play a part in achieving this aim.
5. what are the measures the writer suggest that this coalition take?
First, is to forgo building coal- fired plants.
second is to increase the cars' fuel efficiency
Third is to provide targeted assistance to developing countries so as to enhance their energy efficiency and also to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.
Also, members could also agree to provide stronger incentives to their own producers, through either stringent caps on emissions ot higher taxes on pollution.
6. can these measures work? any possible obstacles?
In our opinion:
The first and second measures might be tough to implement initially for it is far too costly. However, as the technology advances, the cost will therefore be lowered. Hence, many will then be able to afford it.
The third measure is not feasible because the countries who are providing monetary assistance might not be able to sustain in a long run.
Stringent caps on emission appears to be a good method. However, the cost of administration will be too high and as a result, it might pose a strain on the people as the wages made to the monitiors are taken from the taxes. If the wages increase, the amount of tax needed to be collected will also increase thus posing a problem on the people.
Higher taxes will discourage foreign investors to invest in the countries. By having high taxes, the total revenue of the foreign investors will then be affected.
Group: Alvin, Frahani, Yong Jia, Jeremy and Jing Li
1. Solutions: "Palm oil: Dream biofuel or eco nightmare?"
What are biofuels?
Biofuels are oil/energy that are extracted/derived mostly from plants. Some examples of plants used in the production of biofuels: palm oil for the Netherlands, corn for the USA, sugar for Brazil, sunflower oil and local rapeseed for Europe.
2. The first problem:
Finding an alternative souce of energy/fuel to protect the environment.
The solution for the first problem:
In the Netherlands, a new way of protecting the environment is found by the adoption of "sustainable energy", achieved in part by coaxing electrical plants to use biofuels - particularly, palm oil from SEA. Reason being, biofuels absorb carbon while they are grown and release it when they are burned. This neutralises their emissions.
3. The second problem:
The risen use and demand of palm oil/fuels derived from plants have brought about many negative impacts. Such as the clearing of huge tracts of SEA rainforest, an overuse of chemical fertilisers and the draining and burning of peatland, which sent huge amounts of carbon emissions into the atmosphere, just to create space for expanding palm plantations.
The solution for the second problem:
Government to suspend palm oil subsidies. Netherlands plan to make the effort to distinguish which biofuels are truly environmentally sound and to develop programmes to trace the origins of imported palm oil, and to certify which operations produce the oil in a envronmental-friendly manner.
4. Do you think the proposed solutions will work?
Solution 1 for problem 1:
Yes, it will work because it is environmental-friendly and the use of biofuels, which are mostly derived from plants, neutralises the carbon emission.
Solution 2 for problem 2.
No, it may/may not work. DEpending on the type of plantations. For poor framers/small-scale plantations, they need the subsidies badly. Hence, this solution may be useful. But there are also large-scale plantations which supply the biofuels to big comapnies in other countries. The subsidies may not mean a thing to them, as they can reap profit from the export of biofuels.
5. Possible obstacles/disadvantages?
Disadvantage of checking the source of the biofuels and whether it is produced in a environmental friendly manner is that it may incur extra costs. Furthermore, the method is tedious as the source may not come from the country itself but somewhere foreign.
Group members: Eleazar, Timothy, Jun Ye, Aloysius & Hong Wei
Solutions: Plan to Combat Climate Change presented to UN
3 Thrusts of the Action Plan - Reduce Global Warming - Cope with Change - Implement Global Policy
Who presented this plan?
An international panel of scientists. ( Panel Co-Chair Rosina Bierbaum, a University of Michigan ecologist. ) IPCC - Intergovernmental panel on Climate Change, an authoritative UN network of 2,000 scientists. A reliable group of scientists presented this solution. Since they are University students and have probably done extensive research on the environment, they prove to be credible and reliable.
What are your views on this plan?
Positive outlook: - The proposed solution is efficient - Practical - Maximising social welfare - Policy deals with future considerations - Causes awareness ( To gain support from the population/people ; Live Earth ) - We HAVE the technology to implement the solutions.
Problems/Obstacles: - Trust between Nations ( Between developing and developed countries ) - High costs to ensure efficiency - Thus, requires funding. - Since the problem sprouted from us, it would be hard to adapt and change for the better.
Do you think it can be enforced by the UN? Any possible obstacles?
Possible to enforce by the UN. However, it might take a long period of time. UN known to be rather inefficient when it boils down to big events like these. Tsk tsk.
Obstacles that might arise: - Key members will oppose the plan. eg, China, developing countries. In addition, they might not prioritise the importance of this solution. - Human communities in developing countries not likely to adapt. - Some developed nations might not be inclined to adopt the solution. ( They need to renew their facilities ) High costs of rebuilding too. - Most old power plants have to be retrofitted. - However, most countries would disagree because they have to demolish the old power plants.
How did you come to the conclusion that this personal carbon credit plan is effective to a large extent? The argument under #1 is weak, unsubstantiated and unconvincing.
There is a repeated mention about high admin costs. What are these admin costs? Pl explain and elaborate.
How can we convince the pple t be supportive? That si the key, isn't it?
What are the implications of the scientists miscalculating the pace of global warming & the melting of ice?
If market-based incentives can motivate the Americans, can you suggest some examples of such incentives that migh effectively persuade Americans to act in more envtally-frenly ways?
According to the writer, who are his ideal candidates for the "coalition of the willing"? How can this "coalition fo the willing" help? What makes this grouping different from other groupings? Is this grouping replacing some other body?
The article seems to be written from the perspective of the more developed nations. Do you think the suggested actions and solutions to accompanying problems consider the needs of the developing nations? Are we perpetuating the rich-poor divide?
Hey! I object to the remark abt uni students - that is an unfair and elitist generalisation!
You point out rightly that one of the key problems is trust between nations. How can we promote trust between nations then?
Linked to this question, is you also rightly highlighted that while a global body, the UN is more bark than bite. How can we empower the UN to carry out its responsibilities effectively? How can the UN help its members to overlook their individual interests and really work in the true spirit of UN membership?
"Since the problem sprouted from us, it would be hard to adapt and change for the better." What don you mean? Elaborate pl.
It is similar to the carbon tax imposed on the factories. The carbon tax on the factories are not working perfectly but sitll hope to reduce the level of carbon. There is an incentive for people to reduce their carbon emission so they can sell their extra credits for money. This plan is not effective as some rich and 'dirty' people can still pollute the environment above the quota as they can buy credits from other people. Since not all people are rich and 'dirty' this plan is effective to a large extent.
The administrative costs mentioned is the cost required to hire people to monitor the system so that people will observe and follow according the quota.
Jeremy, can we be more precise, esp with reference to the handout in question? Why will the rich be richer? Are you talking abt a monetary sense?
Also, how can we right the imbalance? How can we try to equal the difference between the rich and the poor? If the poor is always disadvantaged in the fight against everything else, including global warming, why would they want to participate? How can we improve trust between the developed and developing world?
the personal carbon credit plan is effective to a large extent as individuals are now internalising the cost of damage done to the environment due to their emission of carbon to the atmospehere. each citizen has a quota of how much carbon thay can expend to the environment annually on a range of products, probably food, energy and travel.
this plan encourages citizens to reduce their carbon emission as they could sell the extra carbon credits to someone who needs it. therefore, the lesser they emit carbon, the more money they could earn from this plan as it benefits them to reduce their carbon emission.
Bonding sessions between representatives of different countries. ( Bringing them to Zouk, socializing power ) However, promoting exchange programs between nations would initiate new relations and strengthen existing friendships/trust. Widen the scope of the countries that ? have relations with.
Creating awareness of the productivity of the UN through mass media and other mediums might encourage them to be more efficient. Unless we join UN ourselves, theres hardly anything we could FORCE on them to work harder. They are afterall, the UN.
""Since the problem sprouted from us, it would be hard to adapt and change for the better." What don you mean? Elaborate pl. "
Well, since there are already people living different kinds of lifestyles, those that live the life of a bum for example, would be reluctant to change and care for the environment.
For the technology bit, we have high-end technological wares like the solar panel and hydro-electric power. Hybrid cars, the commonly used vehicles.
Group: Yan En, Deborah, Mira, Amirah, Hong Siah, Joanne
1. What is sustainable development? economic development without polluting environment: economic development maintained within acceptable levels of global resource depletion and environmental pollution
2. Identify the strategies shared by the writer. - Pursue clean technology and focus it in the long run - explore and expand the use of market solutions by providing the right incentives for pollution control - to understand and be aware of multiple stakeholders in the environmental management - access the use of the so-called non market valutaion techniques and apply them in project evaluation
3. Examine the feasibility of the strategies shared by the writer. - since firms are profit motivated hence an increase in cost of production when using clean techonology is not appealing - by providing incentives, people are conserving the environment because of the benefits they receive
4. Any possible obstacles? - money involved - responses from the public
Jianhui, your reasoning is rather warped. Everyday, we have more millionaires in the world... does that make the plan still ineffective? We are talking abt individuals here!
Admin costs would also include the initial set-up of the system, the campaigns to create awareness among the people and promote buy-in. We also need to consider the initial set-up costs in R&D and technology. The sys now tracks inductries; we need a system that woudl track indiv needs and ideal expenditure of CO2. How can we be fair in coming up with the appropriate quotas for the defferent needs of different individuals?
cos the rich from the developed countries will get richer as they don't care about the govt suspending their subsidies as they only wanna maximize their profits through exporting on a large-scale basis. the poorer farmers with small-scale plantations will be affected greaty by the suspension of subsidies.
urppz .. i don't know how to elab alrdy. maybe we can steal from the rich and give to the poor. $.$
What are the implications of the scientists miscalculating the pace of global warming & the melting of ice?
countries will think that the rate at which global warming is occurring is not posing any serious issue to the world at this point of time. hence they will tend to continue misusing the resources. this will eventually result in more serious environment problems such as floods which will destroy settlements.
If market-based incentives can motivate the Americans, can you suggest some examples of such incentives that might effectively persuade Americans to act in more envtally-frenly ways?
1) renewing the tax incentives for hybrids
According to the writer, who are his ideal candidates for the "coalition of the willing"? How can this "coalition fo the willing" help? What makes this grouping different from other groupings? Is this grouping replacing some other body?
According to the writer, the ideal candidates are european union and japan. They will agree to certain basic standards to reduce carbon emissions. it is different from other groupings because they are willing to impose costs on themselves (sacrificing themselves) and put themselves at a competitive disadvantage. This grouping seems to be replacing the Kyoto protocol.
Mira, good inputs. Just want ot add that the original quotas have to be low, pegged to the ideal amt of CO2 that we want to maintain in the atmospere in different years' time. If the overall quota for all is low, we would have effectively set in place a sys that would help to ameliorate the global warming situation. Even if the rich buy more CO2 allowance from the poor, it would be ok.
I think the other issue is political will. We need to let our govts know that we are ready for tough measures and only through action can we convince our politicians of our resolve, so hey carry on with the personal shopping bag trend!
Your group stated that due the technology advances, therefore the cost for implenmenting the strategies is lowered..Maybe u can try to states some examples of any countries starting to implement these.And even it is affordable, do u think the developing countries are willing to spend this "extra" money on saving the earth or to save their countries' economy.As we know that new "green" technology are expensive, so even it is afforable to the developed countries,it does not mean that it applies to the developing countries, such as Indonesia,India etc..
To Elea's group, I have to discourage the flippant undertone i sense in your reply:
Bonding session in Zouk? - How does this work? It will be too loud to really communicate and we run the risk of pple getting drunk.Not to mention that the idea of Zouk is more pitched to the younger pple's mindset, when the idea of fun for older delegates might be a round of golf. Do consider their positions as UN delegates - gallivanting to Zouk would hardly make for decent frontpage headlines.
Exchange programmes would be more relevant/ And i like the idea of widening the scope of co-operation. Any areas that you can suggest? Also, any implications abt widening the scope fo co-operation? Woudl voters agree?
"Creating awareness of the productivity of the UN through mass media and other mediums might encourage them to be more efficient." - Hmm. the UN is not known to be efficient, so why air dirty laundry in publicity? Publicity is not cheap, ya?
"Unless we join UN ourselves, theres hardly anything we could FORCE on them to work harder. They are afterall, the UN." - Well, I believe we have a representative at UN already, but if you are thinking of becoming part of the council of the top 5, give up. We are a small country, mate.
"Well, since there are already people living different kinds of lifestyles, those that live the life of a bum for example, would be reluctant to change and care for the environment." - Yes, but for a solution to waork, everyone must pitch in. The bum can fry on the beach through apathy and inaction, but how can we persuade even slackers like him? As much as the mainstream has a moral obligation to him, he has a moral obligation to us as well.We will not make much progress if every step forward we take is pushed bak by every plastic cup or styrofoam box the bum discards on the beach...
erm...sorry on behalf for my group, the actual cost for implementing the strategies will be higher. the countries implenting perhaps are Japn an some European countries as stated by the article. ya i think the developing wont be willing to spend that extra money cos they r not able at first?, so i think that's when the developed countries will need to do more.. innovating new technologies, better fuel, etc. -garry
A blog for work and play, "happy dogs and everything else" is a platform to encourage conversations and provoke discussions. Fav topics are dogs (naturally), food, movies and current hot topics. Naturally, the stars of Happy Dogs are my two lovely girls, Huey & Shiroii. To find out more, check out them out in the pictures!
A blog for work and play, "happy dogs and everything else" is a platform to encourage conversations and provoke discussions. Fav topics are dogs (naturally), food, movies and current hot topics. Naturally, the stars of Happy Dogs are my two lovely girls, Huey & Shiroii. To find out more, check out them out in the pictures!
27 comments:
Group : Tan Tian Kian, Thai Chan Seng, Lim Jian Hui, Ng Wee chun, Tan Kay Wen, Toh Yong Siang
soluiton: personal carbon credits on the cards.
1. It is similar to the carbon tax imposed on the factories. The carbon tax on the factories are not working perfectly but sitll hope to reduce the level of carbon. Hence this personal carbon credit plan is effective to a large extent.
2. It will not work perfectly.
- effective but difficult to implement.
- high administrative costs
- people are mainly profit minded.
- difficult to change carbon crdits to moneytary terms.
- some areas will be highly polluted and can cause health problems.
3. Main thing needed is the citizens to be supportive of this plan then the govt. can carry it out. High adminstrative costs is needed to carry out this plan.
4. The possible obstacles are people that do not follow the rules and they are not willing to pay that extra tax, thus govt. canoot initiate the new system.
group members: Garry, Mengyik, Yuhui, Yaojie, Yongda and Me
Solutions: act now on global warming
1. what is the world doing about global warming?
Europe and Japan have shown their commitment in reducing global warming by imposing costs on themselves and their producers, even of it places them at a competitive disadvantage.
USA, on the other hand, is doing nothing to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted. Instead, it contributes even more to the amount of greenhouse gases emitted.
2. what did the scientists miscalculate?
The scientists have miscalculated the pace at which the global warming was occurring.
3. what does the writer suggest is the key principle that will motivate the Americans?
The writer suggests that the key principle which will motivate the Americans is market- based incentives.
The incentives serves to induce the Americans to reduce energy comsumption and also to produce more energy in ways that emit lesser carbon.
4. what does the writer mean by a "coalition of the willing"?
The writer means that there is a need to gather nations who aim and are willing to co-operate to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted, instead of wasting time and effort to seek the co-operation of countries who do not want to play a part in achieving this aim.
5. what are the measures the writer suggest that this coalition take?
First, is to forgo building coal- fired plants.
second is to increase the cars' fuel efficiency
Third is to provide targeted assistance to developing countries so as to enhance their energy efficiency and also to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.
Also, members could also agree to provide stronger incentives to their own producers, through either stringent caps on emissions ot higher taxes on pollution.
6. can these measures work? any possible obstacles?
In our opinion:
The first and second measures might be tough to implement initially for it is far too costly. However, as the technology advances, the cost will therefore be lowered. Hence, many will then be able to afford it.
The third measure is not feasible because the countries who are providing monetary assistance might not be able to sustain in a long run.
Stringent caps on emission appears to be a good method. However, the cost of administration will be too high and as a result, it might pose a strain on the people as the wages made to the monitiors are taken from the taxes. If the wages increase, the amount of tax needed to be collected will also increase thus posing a problem on the people.
Higher taxes will discourage foreign investors to invest in the countries. By having high taxes, the total revenue of the foreign investors will then be affected.
TEST!
Group: Alvin, Frahani, Yong Jia, Jeremy and Jing Li
1. Solutions: "Palm oil: Dream biofuel or eco nightmare?"
What are biofuels?
Biofuels are oil/energy that are extracted/derived mostly from plants. Some examples of plants used in the production of biofuels: palm oil for the Netherlands, corn for the USA, sugar for Brazil, sunflower oil and local rapeseed for Europe.
2. The first problem:
Finding an alternative souce of energy/fuel to protect the environment.
The solution for the first problem:
In the Netherlands, a new way of protecting the environment is found by the adoption of "sustainable energy", achieved in part by coaxing electrical plants to use biofuels - particularly, palm oil from SEA. Reason being, biofuels absorb carbon while they are grown and release it when they are burned. This neutralises their emissions.
3. The second problem:
The risen use and demand of palm oil/fuels derived from plants have brought about many negative impacts. Such as the clearing of huge tracts of SEA rainforest, an overuse of chemical fertilisers and the draining and burning of peatland, which sent huge amounts of carbon emissions into the atmosphere, just to create space for expanding palm plantations.
The solution for the second problem:
Government to suspend palm oil subsidies. Netherlands plan to make the effort to distinguish which biofuels are truly environmentally sound and to develop programmes to trace the origins of imported palm oil, and to certify which operations produce the oil in a envronmental-friendly manner.
4. Do you think the proposed solutions will work?
Solution 1 for problem 1:
Yes, it will work because it is environmental-friendly and the use of biofuels, which are mostly derived from plants, neutralises the carbon emission.
Solution 2 for problem 2.
No, it may/may not work. DEpending on the type of plantations. For poor framers/small-scale plantations, they need the subsidies badly. Hence, this solution may be useful. But there are also large-scale plantations which supply the biofuels to big comapnies in other countries. The subsidies may not mean a thing to them, as they can reap profit from the export of biofuels.
5. Possible obstacles/disadvantages?
Disadvantage of checking the source of the biofuels and whether it is produced in a environmental friendly manner is that it may incur extra costs. Furthermore, the method is tedious as the source may not come from the country itself but somewhere foreign.
- The end! -
Group members: Eleazar, Timothy, Jun Ye, Aloysius & Hong Wei
Solutions: Plan to Combat Climate Change presented to UN
3 Thrusts of the Action Plan
- Reduce Global Warming
- Cope with Change
- Implement Global Policy
Who presented this plan?
An international panel of scientists. ( Panel Co-Chair Rosina Bierbaum, a University of Michigan ecologist. )
IPCC - Intergovernmental panel on Climate Change, an authoritative UN network of 2,000 scientists.
A reliable group of scientists presented this solution. Since they are University students and have probably done extensive research on the environment, they prove to be credible and reliable.
What are your views on this plan?
Positive outlook:
- The proposed solution is efficient
- Practical
- Maximising social welfare
- Policy deals with future considerations
- Causes awareness ( To gain support from the population/people ; Live Earth )
- We HAVE the technology to implement the solutions.
Problems/Obstacles:
- Trust between Nations ( Between developing and developed countries )
- High costs to ensure efficiency
- Thus, requires funding.
- Since the problem sprouted from us, it would be hard to adapt and change for the better.
Do you think it can be enforced by the UN? Any possible obstacles?
Possible to enforce by the UN. However, it might take a long period of time. UN known to be rather inefficient when it boils down to big events like these. Tsk tsk.
Obstacles that might arise:
- Key members will oppose the plan. eg, China, developing countries. In addition, they might not prioritise the importance of this solution.
- Human communities in developing countries not likely to adapt.
- Some developed nations might not be inclined to adopt the solution. ( They need to renew their facilities ) High costs of rebuilding too.
- Most old power plants have to be retrofitted.
- However, most countries would disagree because they have to demolish the old power plants.
To Tian Kian's group:
How did you come to the conclusion that this personal carbon credit plan is effective to a large extent? The argument under #1 is weak, unsubstantiated and unconvincing.
There is a repeated mention about high admin costs. What are these admin costs? Pl explain and elaborate.
How can we convince the pple t be supportive? That si the key, isn't it?
To Garry's group:
What are the implications of the scientists miscalculating the pace of global warming & the melting of ice?
If market-based incentives can motivate the Americans, can you suggest some examples of such incentives that migh effectively persuade Americans to act in more envtally-frenly ways?
According to the writer, who are his ideal candidates for the "coalition of the willing"?
How can this "coalition fo the willing" help? What makes this grouping different from other groupings? Is this grouping replacing some other body?
To Alvin's group on the use of biofuels:
The article seems to be written from the perspective of the more developed nations. Do you think the suggested actions and solutions to accompanying problems consider the needs of the developing nations? Are we perpetuating the rich-poor divide?
To Elea's group:
Hey! I object to the remark abt uni students - that is an unfair and elitist generalisation!
You point out rightly that one of the key problems is trust between nations. How can we promote trust between nations then?
Linked to this question, is you also rightly highlighted that while a global body, the UN is more bark than bite. How can we empower the UN to carry out its responsibilities effectively? How can the UN help its members to overlook their individual interests and really work in the true spirit of UN membership?
"Since the problem sprouted from us, it would be hard to adapt and change for the better." What don you mean? Elaborate pl.
And my dear chilren from Elea's group, what is this technology that we HAVE? Elaborate pl.
yar cause the rich will be richer and the poor will be poorer. hence there'll be a divide .
Ys gp in response to Kelkellykelkel's comment:
It is similar to the carbon tax imposed on the factories. The carbon tax on the factories are not working perfectly but sitll hope to reduce the level of carbon. There is an incentive for people to reduce their carbon emission so they can sell their extra credits for money. This plan is not effective as some rich and 'dirty' people can still pollute the environment above the quota as they can buy credits from other people. Since not all people are rich and 'dirty' this plan is effective to a large extent.
The administrative costs mentioned is the cost required to hire people to monitor the system so that people will observe and follow according the quota.
i fEeL fOr yOu toO wORz!
tAke cAree lOTz oKayZz??
LuRbEx mS ChOnG fOrEvER!
*mUAcKSZZZZ*
Jeremy, can we be more precise, esp with reference to the handout in question? Why will the rich be richer? Are you talking abt a monetary sense?
Also, how can we right the imbalance? How can we try to equal the difference between the rich and the poor? If the poor is always disadvantaged in the fight against everything else, including global warming, why would they want to participate? How can we improve trust between the developed and developing world?
the personal carbon credit plan is effective to a large extent as individuals are now internalising the cost of damage done to the environment due to their emission of carbon to the atmospehere. each citizen has a quota of how much carbon thay can expend to the environment annually on a range of products, probably food, energy and travel.
this plan encourages citizens to reduce their carbon emission as they could sell the extra carbon credits to someone who needs it. therefore, the lesser they emit carbon, the more money they could earn from this plan as it benefits them to reduce their carbon emission.
-mira
Bonding sessions between representatives of different countries. ( Bringing them to Zouk, socializing power ) However, promoting exchange programs between nations would initiate new relations and strengthen existing friendships/trust. Widen the scope of the countries that ? have relations with.
Creating awareness of the productivity of the UN through mass media and other mediums might encourage them to be more efficient. Unless we join UN ourselves, theres hardly anything we could FORCE on them to work harder. They are afterall, the UN.
""Since the problem sprouted from us, it would be hard to adapt and change for the better." What don you mean? Elaborate pl. "
Well, since there are already people living different kinds of lifestyles, those that live the life of a bum for example, would be reluctant to change and care for the environment.
For the technology bit, we have high-end technological wares like the solar panel and hydro-electric power. Hybrid cars, the commonly used vehicles.
Jeremy, this post category is for GP only. Pl do not introduce distractions. Having said that, your concern is appreciated.
Group: Yan En, Deborah, Mira, Amirah, Hong Siah, Joanne
1. What is sustainable development?
economic development without polluting environment: economic development maintained within acceptable levels of global resource depletion and environmental pollution
2. Identify the strategies shared by the writer.
- Pursue clean technology and focus it in the long run
- explore and expand the use of market solutions by providing the right incentives for pollution control
- to understand and be aware of multiple stakeholders in the environmental management
- access the use of the so-called non market valutaion techniques and apply them in project evaluation
3. Examine the feasibility of the strategies shared by the writer.
- since firms are profit motivated hence an increase in cost of production when using clean techonology is not appealing
- by providing incentives, people are conserving the environment because of the benefits they receive
4. Any possible obstacles?
- money involved
- responses from the public
Jianhui, your reasoning is rather warped. Everyday, we have more millionaires in the world... does that make the plan still ineffective? We are talking abt individuals here!
Admin costs would also include the initial set-up of the system, the campaigns to create awareness among the people and promote buy-in. We also need to consider the initial set-up costs in R&D and technology. The sys now tracks inductries; we need a system that woudl track indiv needs and ideal expenditure of CO2. How can we be fair in coming up with the appropriate quotas for the defferent needs of different individuals?
cos the rich from the developed countries will get richer as they don't care about the govt suspending their subsidies as they only wanna maximize their profits through exporting on a large-scale basis. the poorer farmers with small-scale plantations will be affected greaty by the suspension of subsidies.
urppz .. i don't know how to elab alrdy. maybe we can steal from the rich and give to the poor. $.$
What are the implications of the scientists miscalculating the pace of global warming & the melting of ice?
countries will think that the rate at which global warming is occurring is not posing any serious issue to the world at this point of time. hence they will tend to continue misusing the resources. this will eventually result in more serious environment problems such as floods which will destroy settlements.
If market-based incentives can motivate the Americans, can you suggest some examples of such incentives that might effectively persuade Americans to act in more envtally-frenly ways?
1) renewing the tax incentives for hybrids
According to the writer, who are his ideal candidates for the "coalition of the willing"?
How can this "coalition fo the willing" help? What makes this grouping different from other groupings? Is this grouping replacing some other body?
According to the writer, the ideal candidates are european union and japan. They will agree to certain basic standards to reduce carbon emissions. it is different from other groupings because they are willing to impose costs on themselves (sacrificing themselves) and put themselves at a competitive disadvantage. This grouping seems to be replacing the Kyoto protocol.
on second thoughts, i think my reply was repititive. almost similar like before. SOrRrYz.
Mira, good inputs. Just want ot add that the original quotas have to be low, pegged to the ideal amt of CO2 that we want to maintain in the atmospere in different years' time. If the overall quota for all is low, we would have effectively set in place a sys that would help to ameliorate the global warming situation. Even if the rich buy more CO2 allowance from the poor, it would be ok.
I think the other issue is political will. We need to let our govts know that we are ready for tough measures and only through action can we convince our politicians of our resolve, so hey carry on with the personal shopping bag trend!
to ys grp...
what do you think will happen if those developing nations are to implement this carbon credit thing?
can those countries afford such a thing? will the people there support such a thing?
To ruihe's grp:
Your group stated that due the technology advances, therefore the cost for implenmenting the strategies is lowered..Maybe u can try to states some examples of any countries starting to implement these.And even it is affordable, do u think the developing countries are willing to spend this "extra" money on saving the earth or to save their countries' economy.As we know that new "green" technology are expensive, so even it is afforable to the developed countries,it does not mean that it applies to the developing countries, such as Indonesia,India etc..
-Yanen
To Elea's group, I have to discourage the flippant undertone i sense in your reply:
Bonding session in Zouk? - How does this work? It will be too loud to really communicate and we run the risk of pple getting drunk.Not to mention that the idea of Zouk is more pitched to the younger pple's mindset, when the idea of fun for older delegates might be a round of golf. Do consider their positions as UN delegates - gallivanting to Zouk would hardly make for decent frontpage headlines.
Exchange programmes would be more relevant/ And i like the idea of widening the scope of co-operation. Any areas that you can suggest? Also, any implications abt widening the scope fo co-operation? Woudl voters agree?
"Creating awareness of the productivity of the UN through mass media and other mediums might encourage them to be more efficient." - Hmm. the UN is not known to be efficient, so why air dirty laundry in publicity? Publicity is not cheap, ya?
"Unless we join UN ourselves, theres hardly anything we could FORCE on them to work harder. They are afterall, the UN." - Well, I believe we have a representative at UN already, but if you are thinking of becoming part of the council of the top 5, give up. We are a small country, mate.
"Well, since there are already people living different kinds of lifestyles, those that live the life of a bum for example, would be reluctant to change and care for the environment." - Yes, but for a solution to waork, everyone must pitch in. The bum can fry on the beach through apathy and inaction, but how can we persuade even slackers like him? As much as the mainstream has a moral obligation to him, he has a moral obligation to us as well.We will not make much progress if every step forward we take is pushed bak by every plastic cup or styrofoam box the bum discards on the beach...
To yanen,
erm...sorry on behalf for my group, the actual cost for implementing the strategies will be higher. the countries implenting perhaps are Japn an some European countries as stated by the article. ya i think the developing wont be willing to spend that extra money cos they r not able at first?, so i think that's when the developed countries will need to do more.. innovating new technologies, better fuel, etc.
-garry
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