Summary for roundtable discussion

This week, we had our roundtable discussion. The topics were given to us before the recess week so that we can research for more information regarding the topics during the one week break. The topics covered in the roundtable discussion are as followed; biofuels, green chemistry, micro-chip implantation, and carbon dioxide capture and storage. This discussion enabled me to have a better understanding on the various technologies.

The purpose of green chemistry is to improve on the technology such that it helps to reduce and prevent pollution. The proposition states that the world is currently facing global warming as a result of the rapid industrialisation. In order to increase the gross profit of the country, many organisations have neglected the environment. This results in the increase of carbon dioxide capacity in the atmosphere, causing the melting of ice caps which leads to flooding in many low lying areas. Hence, countries should work on the green chemistry such as using renewable resources, energy efficient technology, and the introduction of safer chemicals and products. However, the opposition argued that green chemistry should not be implemented in all countries. Instead, it should only be implemented in the developing countries only. As for the developed countries, most of their technologies have already been fully established. As such, it will be very costly for them to switch totally to a new technology. Whereas for the developing countries, they can easily adapt to this new technology, and at the same time, educate their workforce on the fundamentals of green chemistry. I think that the opposition does not have strong evidences to oppose green chemistry. The opposition only argued that the green chemistry should only be introduced to developing countries. In addition, he did not illustrate on how the developing countries will be able to support this technology, given their financial status.

The next group presented on the implantation of micro-chips into every human. These micro-chips will be useful in a sense that they speed up the process of retrieving one's medical history and other personal data. This is extremely helpful in times of emergency where every second counts. With any delay, the patient's life is at stake. Therefore, with these micro-chips, the medical history of the patients is just a scan away. However, the opposition argued that the micro-chips may not seem as useful as they are. These micro-chips implanted into our body may travel to other parts of our body or organs, which may be a disaster. In addition, in this world where hackers are not uncommon, one's security and privacy will be very vulnerable. As such, this technology is not feasible as there are too many loop-holes. I think that this discussion is rather clear and the opposition has provided sufficient arguments as to why this technology is not advisable.

The last topic that was discussed was about carbon capture and storage. The idea of carbon capture is to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, will contributed to global warming. The process of how this technology works was discussed. Furthermore, the proposition discussed that there is an increasing concern regarding the environmental issues, and many countries are emphasising on being environmental friendly. Hence, the adoption of this technology can also help the organisation to gain world wide recognition. On the other hand, the opposition argued that this technology is both risky and costly. Leakage may occur should there be any miscalculation, which will introduce more harm. In addition, he argued that in order to gain recognition, there are many others ways, and there is no such need to spend a huge sum just to gain recognition. Although the jokes in the discussion may capture the attention of the audiences, I think that it is inappropriate in a formal discussion. In addition, the opposition does not have a clear argument as to why he opposed the technology. Instead, he countered the proposition by saying that he is not convincing ith their explanations.

This roundtable discussion enables me to better understand the various technologies. Unfortunately, due to the time limit, only a few of us manage to have our doubts clarified. In addition, we are also unable to wrap up and conclude discussion. I think that we should go through the discussion as a whole, so that we can learn from the mistakes made in each discussion.