Week 13- Critical Reflection Finalised

English for academic purposes module has helped me greatly, particularly in my problem-solution essay writing skills. This consists of organization skills, referencing skills, as well as vocabulary and grammar skills.

Before this module, I was not fully knowledgeable in planning and structuring my essay. Citation was a vital aspect of the essay, where I needed help in acknowledging the research sources that I had referenced.  Limited vocabulary, tenses, and subject-verb agreement were another problem that I faced.

From this module, I have learnt to organize my essay. Firstly, I am required to discuss the main problem in the introduction, and have a thesis statement of my stand. Secondly, I am required to discuss the problem in each paragraph, provide solutions that have been implemented to counter the problem,  with the aid of research, as well as include my own opinion of what can be further done to solve the problem. In addition, the conclusion requires a reiteration of the points, as well as leaving a prompt for readers to think over. Also, I have learned referencing via the APA-referencing guide. Lastly, I have learned how to check my tenses, subject verb agreements, proper word forms to use appropriately, as well as new words.

In future, I can further improve by reading more articles for content, researching more on meanings of unfamiliar words for my vocabulary, as well as practise more by doing more essays bi-weekly. I will cover a wider range of topics in the essays, such as the Media, State politics etc, so as to widen my knowledge in these aspects. In addition to writing more, I will seek professional help in vetting through my essay so that I will be able to learn from and correct my mistakes. This very same concept applies to my major, whereby practicing more helps me to improve and understand the concept which I am learning.

As the saying goes, knowledge is power! In conclusion, knowledge is an ever-improving skill, and there is much that I can do to constantly improve it.

Week 13- Globalisation Essay finalised

In the modernized 21^st century, globalization has played a vital role in bringing it to a current technologically advanced state.  Globalization increased worldwide interactions, and interweaved several aspects of human activity, improving lives greatly. Trading and the production of goods have increased greatly over these years. However, this very same subject has caused much controversy regarding the effects it has caused. Governance has developed too slowly and has fallen greatly behind globalization. This results in a trail of never-ending problems to the world. Globalization has deteriorated the fragile world greatly environmentally. A major threat of global warming persists and endangers life forms on Earth. Global warming is predominantly caused by greenhouse gases, and this arises from two factors, air pollution to the environment, as well as deforestation due to forest fires. Measures such as the Kyoto Protocol and cloud seeding have been taken to counteract these problems. However, these remedies have been proven insufficient due to the drawbacks.

Globalization has resulted in increased trade and  goods production worldwide, and thus large scale industrialization, as well as a significant increase in the number of vehicles present on the roads. This resulted in air pollution from greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. A build up of these gases within the stratosphere trapped heat within the ozone layer and reflected it back to Earth, causing a global increase in the world’s temperature, endangering every life form present.  A solution to this was the Kyoto Protocol agreement that was negotiated in December 1997 and activated in February 2005. The objective was for the included industrialized countries such as Japan, the United States and the European Union members to lower overall emissions from six greenhouse gases by 2010. However, this solution was highly ineffective. Nayan (2008) stated that  the US  “balked at ratifying it, calling it unnecessary and expensive.” (p.124) The US’s refusal to adhere and cooperate has nullified the effects of the agreement. This is because, the US, being one of the world’s largest industrialized countries, contributes the most to the world’s global greenhouse gases emission. Unless the US contributes to the agreement, the pollution problem remains significant, as even with the combined actions taken by the other countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it would be insufficient to generate a significant reduction. An alternative solution would be to switch to cleaner fuels, rather than reducing the quantity of industrialization in the US. This can be done by the usage of alternative cleaner energy sources which are found naturally, instead of burning coal and fossil fuels to power factories. These alternative energy sources can include solar energy, wind energy, as well as geothermal energy. Solar energy can be freely obtained through the usage and installation of solar panels to absorb heat from the Sun. Wind energy involves usage of wind turbines to capture energy by the rotational motion of the turbines. Geothermal energy can be obtained by capturing heat energy from the Earth’s core. The US government needs to cooperate, and provide incentive for industries to switch to the alternative cleaner energies. This can be done by issuing government grants to allow them to establish the devices required. In conclusion, there is much more actions that can be taken by the US government in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to alleviate the pollution problem and global warming.

Globalisation has also led to the uncontrollable destruction of trees via forest fires. Having less trees mean less absorption of greenhouse gases. The intense burning results in an extremely large amount of carbon dioxide and dust irritants being produced. This happens particularly in Indonesia, where forest fires occur on a large scale. The root of the problem arises from both the naturally dry season, as well as the traditional “slash and burn” culture of traditional Indonesian farmers and companies. These offenders burn the forests illegally in order to achieve fertile land for production of crops to trade internationally. The recent dry season in July this year escalated the problem greatly, pushing Pollution Standard Index (PSI) levels to well over 400. The Indonesian government collaborated with countries like Singapore in order to identify the hotspots via satellites, in an attempt to minimise the impact via inducing rain though the usage of silver iodide crystals in cloud seeding. However, this was insufficient as the root cause of the problem still largely remained, due to the lack of proper governance. The forested areas were too large for the government to be able to arrest everyone who burns the forest. In addition, corrupt government officials were bribed at times, allowing the companies to continue burning the forests. Furthermore, cloud seeding had a great negative impact to the environment as it is not known to cause any serious long term adverse effects on life forms (Cato, 2011). Lastly, the increased rainfall from cloud seeding might cause flooding (Cato, 2011). A plausible solution which can be implemented by the Indonesian government will be to increase the fines greatly for illegal forest burning. This would deter offenders from intentionally burning the forests, due to fear of the harsher penalty. Also, it can provide incentives for local farmers to not burn the forests, by giving them bonuses for not burning them. In addition, it can also provide them with the equipment to clear the land via a less environment-damaging method, and set quotas for the maximum amount of trees cleared yearly. Furthermore, the Indonesian government can also have a new election of the government personnel so as to resolve the problem of corrupt government officials. With less forest fires, there would be a reduced need for cloud seeding and the negative impact caused by it would be reduced. In conclusion, there is much more actions that can be taken by the Indonesian government to reduce forest fires to alleviate the problem of haze and global warming.

All in all, the problem of global warming remains significant, and threatens our future world greatly if nothing is done about it. There is much that can be done by governments in solving both the Industrial pollution, as well as the forest fire problems.  Imagine the consequences when our future world is 5 degrees hotter, there are massive floods due to icecaps melting, and there would be extinction of several animal species that are unable to survive at an increased temperature.  Our next generation would not live to see and know what a white tiger is.

 

Reference List

Nayan, C. (2008). Runaway Globalization Without Governance

Jeremy C. (2011). Pros & Cons of Cloud Seeding  eHow. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/info_8493220_pros-cons-cloud-seeding.html

Week 11- Critical Reflection

Topic:Essay Writing (and/or Essay Research and/or The Next Stage of My Learning)

English for academic purposes module has helped me greatly, particularly in my problem-solution essay writing skills. This consists of organization skills, referencing skills, vocabulary and grammar skills.

Before this module, I was not fully knowledgeable in essay writing. I did not know how to plan and structure my essay. Citation was a vital aspect of the essay, which I needed help in acknowledging the research source that I had. Limited vocabulary, tenses, and subject-verb agreement were another problem that I faced.

From this module, I have learned to organize my essay. Firstly, I am required to discuss the main problem in the introduction, and have a thesis statement of my stand. Secondly, I am required to discuss the problem in each paragraph, provide solutions that have been implemented to counter the problem,  with the aid of research, as well as include my own opinion of what can be further done to solve the problem. Lastly, the conclusion requires a reiteration of the points, as well as leaving a prompt for readers to think over. Also, I have learned referencing via the APA-referencing guide. Lastly, I have learned how to check my tenses, subject verb agreements, proper word forms to use appropriately, as well as new words.

In future, I can further improve myself by reading more articles for content, research more on meanings of unfamiliar words for my vocabulary, as well as practice more by doing more essays. This same concept applies to my major, whereby practicing more helps me to improve and understand the concept which I am learning.

As the saying goes, knowledge is power! In conclusion, knowledge is an ever-improving skill, and there is much that I can do to constantly improve it.

Week 10- Globalisation Essay (Final Draft)

In the modernized 21^st century, globalization has played a vital role in bringing it to a current technologically advanced state.  Globalization increased worldwide interactions, and interweaved several aspects of human activity, improving lives greatly. Trading and the production of goods have increased greatly over these years. However, this very same subject has caused much controversy regarding the effects it has caused. Governance has developed too slowly and fell greatly behind globalization. This results in a trail of never-ending problems to the world. Globalization has deteriorated the fragile world greatly environmentally. A major threat of global warming persists and endangers life forms on Earth. Global warming is predominantly caused by greenhouse gases, and this arises from two factors, air pollution to the environment, as well as deforestation due to forest fires. Measures such as the Kyoto Protocol and cloud seeding have been taken to counteract these problems. However, these remedies have been proven insufficient due to the drawbacks.

Globalization has resulted in increased trade and  goods production worldwide, and thus large scale industrialization, as well as a significant increase in the number of vehicles present on the roads. This resulted in air pollution from greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. A build up of these gases within the stratosphere trapped heat within the ozone layer and reflected it back to Earth, causing a global increase in our world’s temperature, endangering every life form present.  A solution to this was the Kyoto Protocol agreement that was negotiated in December 1997 and activated in February 2005. The objective of it was for the included industrialized countries such as Japan, the United States and the European Union members to lower overall emissions from six greenhouse gases by 2010. However, this solution was highly ineffective. Nayan (2008) pointed out that  the US  “balked at ratifying it, calling it unnecessary and expensive.” (p.124) The US’s refusal to adhere and cooperate has nullified the effects of the agreement. This is because, the US, being one of the world’s largest industrialized countries, contributes the most to the world’s global greenhouse gases emission. Unless the US contributes to the agreement, the pollution problem remains significant, as even with the combined actions taken by the other countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it would be insufficient to generate a significant reduction. An alternative solution would be to switch to cleaner fuels, rather than reducing the quantity of industrialization in the US. This can be done by the usage of alternative cleaner energy sources which are found naturally, instead of burning coal and fossil fuels to power factories. These alternative energy sources can include solar energy, wind energy, as well as geothermal energy. Solar energy can be freely obtained through the usage and installation of solar panels to absorb heat from the Sun. Wind energy involves usage of wind turbines to capture energy by the rotational motion of the turbines. Geothermal energy can be obtained by capturing heat energy found from the Earth’s core. The US government needs to cooperate, and provide incentive for industries to switch to the alternative cleaner energies. This can be done by issuing government grants to allow them to establish the devices required. In conclusion, there is much more actions that can be taken by the US government in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to alleviate the pollution problem and global warming.

Globalisation has also led to the uncontrollable destruction of trees via forest fires. Having less trees mean less absorption of greenhouse gases. The intense burning results in an extremely large amount of carbon dioxide and dust irritants being produced. This happens particularly in Indonesia, where forest fires occur on a large scale. The root of the problem arises from both the naturally dry season, as well as the traditional “slash and burn” culture of traditional Indonesian farmers and companies. These offenders burn the forests illegally in order to achieve fertile land for production of crops to trade internationally. The recent dry season in July this year escalated the problem greatly, pushing Pollution Standard Index (PSI) levels to well over 400. The Indonesian government collaborated with countries like Singapore in order to identify the hotspots via satellites, in an attempt to minimise the impact via inducing rain though the usage of silver iodide crystals in cloud seeding. However, this was insufficient as the root cause of the problem still largely remained, due to the lack of proper governance. The forested areas were too large for the government to be able to arrest everyone who burns the forest. In addition, corrupt government officials were bribed at times, allowing the companies to continue burning the forests. Furthermore, cloud seeding had a great negative impact to the environment as it is not known to cause any serious long term adverse effects on life forms (Cato, 2011). Lastly, the increased rainfall from cloud seeding might cause flooding (Cato, 2011). A plausible solution which can be implemented by the Indonesian government will be to increase the fines greatly for illegal forest burning. This would deter offenders from intentionally burning the forests, due to fear of the harsher penalty. Also, it can provide incentives for local farmers to not burn the forests, by giving them bonuses for not burning them. In addition, it can also provide them with the equipment to clear the land via a less environment-damaging method, and set quotas for the maximum amount of trees cleared yearly. Lastly, the Indonesian government can also have a new election of the government personnel so as to resolve the problem of corrupt government officials. With less forest fires, there would be a reduced need for cloud seeding and the negative impact caused by it would be reduced. In conclusion, there is much more actions that can be taken by the Indonesian government to reduce forest fires to alleviate the problem of haze and global warming.

All in all, the problem of global warming remains significant, and threatens our future world greatly if nothing is done about it. There is much that can be done by governments in solving both the Industrial pollution, as well as the forest fire problems.  Imagine the consequences when our future world is 5 degrees hotter, there are massive floods due to icecaps melting, and there would be extinction of several animal species that are unable to survive at an increased temperature.  Our next generation would not live to see and know what a white tiger is.

Reference List

Nayan, C. (2008). Runaway Globalization Without Governance

Jeremy C. (2011). Pros & Cons of Cloud Seeding  eHow. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/info_8493220_pros-cons-cloud-seeding.html

Week 8- Globalisation essay draft 1

Globalisation can be defined as the increasing cross-border interaction and integration of various aspects of human activity. Based on this view of globalisation, identify one problematic area of the phenomenon and discuss its influence on contemporary society. What actual or possible means are there to ameliorate (improve) the issue highlighted?

In our modernized 21^st century world, globalization has played a vital role in bringing it to the current technologically advanced state.  Globalization has increased worldwide interactions, and interweaved several aspects of human activity, improving our lives greatly. Trading and the production of goods have increased greatly over these years. However, this very same subject has brought about much controversy on its effects it has caused. Governance has developed too slowly and lagged greatly behind globalization. This resulted in a trail of never-ending problems to our world. Globalization has deteriorated our fragile world greatly environmentally. A major threat of global warming persists and endangers life form on Earth. Global warming is predominantly caused by greenhouse gases, and this arises from two factors, air pollution to the environment, as well destruction and removal of trees that absorb greenhouse gases, via forest fires. Measures such as the Kyoto Protocol and cloud seeding have been taken to counteract these problems respectively. However, these remedies were proven insufficient due to the drawbacks present at hand.

Globalisation has resulted in an increased trade and production of goods worldwide, and thus a large scale industrialization, as well as a significant increase in the number of vehicles present on the roads. Air pollution of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide arises. A build up of these gases within our stratosphere causes heat to be trapped within the ozone layer, reflecting heat back to Earth and causing a global increase in our world’s temperature, endangering every life form present.  A solution to this was the Kyoto Protocol agreement that was negotiated in December 1997 and activated in February 2005. The objective of it was for the included industrialized countries such as Japan, the United States and the European Union to lower overall emissions from six greenhouse gases by 2010. However, this solution was highly ineffective. Chanda (2008) pointed out that  the US  “balked at ratifying it, calling it unnecessary and expensive.” (p.124) The US’ refusal to adhere and cooperate has nullified the effects of the agreement. This is because, the US, being one of the world’s largest industrialized countries, contributed the most to the world’s global greenhouse gases emission. Unless the US contributes to the agreement, the pollution problem remains largely at hand as even with the combined actions taken by the other countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it  would be insufficient to generate a significant impact on the reduction. An alternative solution would be instead of reducing the quantity of industrialization in the US, but to switch to improved quality of industrialization instead. This can be done by the usage of alternative cleaner energy sources which are found naturally, instead of burning coal and fossil fuels to power factories. These alternative energy sources can include solar energy, wind energy, as well as geothermal energy. Solar energy can be freely obtained through the usage and installation of solar panels to absorb heat from the Sun. Wind energy involves usage of wind turbines to capture energy by the rotational motion of the turbines. Geothermal energy can be obtained by capturing heat energy found from the Earth’s core. The US government needs to cooperate, and provide incentive for industry companies to switch to the alternative cleaner energies. This can be done by issuing government grants to allow them to establish the devices required. In conclusion, there is much room for actions to be taken by the US government in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to alleviate the pollution problem and global warming.

 

Globalisation has also led to the uncontrollable destruction and removal of trees that absorb greenhouse gases, via forest fires. The intense burning results in an extremely large amount of carbon dioxide and dust irritants being produced. This happens in Indonesia in particular, where forest fires occur on a large scale. The root of the problem arises from both the naturally dry season, as well as the traditional “slash and burn” culture of traditional Indonesian farmers and companies. These offenders burn the forest illegally in order to achieve fertile land for production of crops to trade internationally. The recent dry season in July this year escalated the problem greatly, pushing Pollution Standard Index (PSI) levels to well over 400. The Indonesian government collaborated with countries like Singapore in order to identify the hotspots via satellites, in an attempt to minimise the impact via inducing rain though the usage of silver iodide crystals in cloud seeding. However, this was insufficient as the root cause of the problem still largely remained, due to lack of proper governance. The forested areas were too large for the government to be able to nab everyone who burns the forest. In addition, corrupt government officials were bribed at times, allowing the companies to continue burning the forests in return. Furthermore, cloud seeding had a great negative impact to the environment as it is not known to cause any serious long term adverse effects on life forms. Lastly, the increased rainfall from cloud seeding might cause flooding (Cato, 2011). A plausible solution which could be implemented by the Indonesian government would be to increase the fines for illegal forest burning greatly. It can provide incentives for local farmers to not burn the land, by giving them bonuses for not burning the forests. In addition, it can also provide them with the equipment to clear the land via a less environment-damaging method, and set quotas for the maximum amount of trees cleared yearly. Lastly, the Indonesian government can also have a re-election of the government board so as to resolve the problem of corrupt government officials. With less forest fires ongoing, there would be a reduced need for cloud seeding and the negative impact caused by it would be reduced. In conclusion, there is also much room for actions to be taken by the Indonesian government to reduce forest fires to alleviate the problem of haze and global warming.

All in all, the problem of global warming remains at large, and threatens our future world greatly if nothing is done about it. There is much that can be done by governments in solving both the Industrial pollution, as well as the forest fire problems.  Imagine the consequences when our future world is 5 degrees hotter, massive floods due to icecaps melting, and extinction of several animal species that are unable to survive at an increased temperature.  Our next generation would not live to see and know what a white tiger is.

Reference List

Nayan Chanda (2008). Runaway Globalization Without Governance

Jeremy Cato, 2011, Pros & Cons of Cloud Seeding  eHow. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/info_8493220_pros-cons-cloud-seeding.html

Week 6- Reader response on 'Runaway Globalization Without Governance"

Naya Chanda (2008) mentioned in the article "Runaway Globalization without Governance" that globalization developed rapidly and outpaced governance, causing numerous problems. One key point mentioned was that globalization resulted in negative environmental effects due to massive industrialization and rapid increase in trade. This was mainly due to the lack of international cooperation. The Kyoto Protocol was launched in an attempt to minimise these effects, but the United States refused to adhere to it, thus leaving the global pollution problem unsolved.

 

I agree with Naya's view to a large extent. Firstly, the United  States refused to take part in the Kyoto Protocol for an important reason. Being the strongest nation in the world, the US would end up losing out much more authority-wise, as compared to the other countries. In addition, the US faced terrorist attacks in the past which destabilised its economy, making it less willing to participate in international cooperations. 

 

Secondly,  haze was a negative environmental effect that arised due to massive industrialization and intense burning of forests in Indonesia. The recent dry season in July this year escalated the problem further, pushing Pollution Standard Index( PSI) levels to well over 400. The root of the problem arised from both the natural and dry season, as well as he traditional "slash and burn" culture of traditional Indonesian farmers and companies. These offenders burn the forest illegally in order to achieve fertile land for their crops. The indonesian government collaborated with countries like Singapore in order to identify the hotspots via satellites, in an attempt to minimise the impact via inducing rain though the usage of silver iodide crystals in cloud seeding. However, this was insufficient as the root cause of the problem still largely remained, due to lack of proper governance. The forested areas were too large for the government to be able to nab everyone who burns the forest. In addition, corrupt government officials were bribed at times, allowing the companies to continue burning the forests in return.

 

All in all, lack of governance resulted in this persisting problem of globalization outpacing governance, and these problem will continue to escalate and worsen in our modernised world if nothing is done to manage it.

 

Week 5- E learning week summary on globalisation (Final draft)

Article A- Runaway Globalization Without Governance

Globalisation has outpaced governance in trade, travel and worldwide connections, bringing more harm than good. Wars arised without government regulations. Economically, monopolization and copyright infringements of goods occur without governance. Globalisation increases trade, causing environmental and health problems without governance. The increased trade spreads plague, causing deaths. Traders were threatened by pirates, taxes and religious beliefs. Advancement of transportation and communications expanded trade routes, but time management and space constraints posed a problem.  Massive industrialization deteriorated the environment. Even with the Kyoto Protocol in place to reduce the impact, the refusal of adherence and cooperation by the US nullifies the effects of the agreement. The US is gradually stepping down from its responsibilities as a global leader, leaving the globalised world at risk in facing its increasing challenges. Most importantly, globalization leads to a threat of terrorists with nuclear weapons spreading among countries.