Summary of Round Table Discussion

One of the roundtable discussions was the use of biodiesel and should it be implemented more widely. The supporting side agreed that biodiesel should be used and could be used in cars. They claim that biodiesel is not only more environmental friendly but at the same it will not have much effects on the cars’ engines. However the against side claimed that people may not receptive to such a change yet. They also claim that biodiesel will have effects on the cars engines such as the cars will lose its horsepower and certain parts could be damaged as well. In short, biodiesel can be implemented but should be done on a small scale first.

Another roundtable discussion was the use of bio-engineering in humans and does it goes in line with government policies. The supporting side said that it can be done and should be done to allow parents to choose the gender of their children. However the against side claimed that this could result in a gender imbalance and will not be good globally. The supporting side also said that it should be allowed as parents should be allowed to choose what they want their child to specialise and how he/she will look like. The against side claimed that by doing this, it is like taking the rights away from the child and he could be forced to do something which he does not enjoy. The child may also not like the looks which the parents chose. The supporting side claim that the high cost will only allow certain parents to be able to afford this and will not have much impact globally. The against side also said that due to the high cost, only parents who are rich will be able to afford and this could further divide the rich and the poor. The use of bio-engineering should be used only to a certain extent and not be allowed on a large scale.

The 3rd round table discussion was the implementation of Carbon Capture Storage (CCS). By using this technology, it will greatly reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air and reduce global warming. The against side argued that this technology is not feasible as those poor countries may not be able to afford it and those developed countries are the ones contributing the highest amount of greenhouse gases. It was also discussed that those countries not near oceans or seas will not be able to implement this technology. The supporting side however said that the greenhouse gases could be transported by vehicles. The supporting argument is also that once the CCS has been implemented under the ocean, there is no way that there can be any leakage as carbon is denser than water. CCS is still in the infant stage and more research and testing needs to be done in order to show that it is really reliable.

Summary on Green Chemistry

My round table discussion is should my home country (Singapore) adopt Kirchhoff’s claim that “a collative effort industry, academia and government will promote the adoption of green chemistry technologies that are necessary to achieve a sustainable society.

In the first article “'Green chemist' shows the way for Singapore”, its author Shobana Kesava gives examples of the benefits of green chemistry. Mainly more efficient manufacturing and better waste conversion are some benefits of green chemistry. The use of green chemistry can also bring about profits and they are renewable and safe. In his article he stated that” Dr Keith Carpenter, executive director of Singapore's Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences, felt that although Singapore is a newcomer to research and development in this field, it has a key role to play.” This shows that green chemistry has potential to be successful in Singapore. Another example was the use of bio-degradable lightweight trays which are safe and will protect both the people and the planet.

Green chemistry can bring about huge economic benefits to the country. Singapore’s collaboration with Japan will only enhance the possibility of making green chemistry a reality in Singapore. Government is putting money into research as A Star is currently involved in this. For the industries such as petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals, the author stated that these industries are widely using green chemistry. Therefore industries in Singapore can know that green chemistry is tried and proven in those areas and should also implement them. However the author did not mention anything about academia on green chemistry but he did mention about a joint workshop by A star-Riken and NTU on another issue. The issue of green chemistry should also have workshops at the universities to expose the students to this issue and its benefits.

The author Mark Pratt stated that Terry Collins is hoping science will help to overcome all the pollutants that the Earth has been receiving. Terry Collins also stated that green chemistry will help to implement products that are safe to the environment. In both Yale and Cambridge, have both started offering courses in green chemistry while others like Carnegie Mellon and University of Oregon have been offering this course for years. Most of us have been brought up without considering how to “save the environment”. We can see more courses are being related to green chemistry as it is also a moral issue.

By having more students in green chemistry, the industries will also have better trained personal and may be more willing to explore the issue. Academia plays a key role to enabling the industries to take this step to make the change to green chemistry. We can see this from “Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. is developing new ways of making drugs that eliminate millions of pounds of waste, and S.C. Johnson & Son Inc.'s has reformulated some consumer cleaning products. “ In Singapore, this issue should be more exposed and focussed on only then will the industries benefit.

From both articles we can see that if academia, industries and the government all work together, green chemistry can be a success in Singapore.

Kesava , S. (19th May 2007). 'Green chemist' shows the way for Singapore. Retrieved on Feb 28th 2009 from http://www.wildsingapore.com/news/20070506/070519-2.htm

Pratt, M. (9th Oct 2007) Green chemistry joins college curriculum. Retrieved on Feb 28th 2009 from http://www.wildsingapore.com/news/20070910/071009-7.htm