Harnessing the power of bacteria for good (31 July e-lecture)

In view of the fact we only have 30 mins together as a class, let's aim for something inspiring, interdisciplinary and also, intellectual. :)

To DV2105 students: please watch this video and discover what it takes to have an interdisciplinary angle to investigating issues. I like the fact that the girls decided that plastic, something that is a man-made creation, need not have a man-made solution to its destruction (or breakdown). And guess what, they went and dug up mud samples from their nearby river for strains of bacteria that were surviving plastic pollution.

The lesson for this lecture is quite simple - that solutions to many man-made problems we have today need new paradigms of thinking, thinking beyond the natural containers of social or natural sciences. Think and imagine solutions that will cut across various disciplines (from social sciences, engineering, natural science or even design).

TASK FOR TODAY:
Today, all you need to do is to look at your two proposals and the methods you have been thinking about. Try applying the "containers" of other sciences you ARE NOT THINKING of. Are there other possible ways of investigating your research questions?

Important note:
Email your proposals by 6pm today to dvsciencejunior@gmail.com. You can indicate in the project title of your proposals which of them you prefer working on. Number the proposal (1) for the one you better prefer and a give a (2) to the one you next best want to work on. So essentially, your group proposal 1 is prefer than proposal 2. Get it?

For starters, anyone interested in growing bacteria that will breakdown petroleum oil spills in Singapore? That's our local solution right?

What's up with Northern Ireland now?

So the parades continue to remind the 2 communities of their differences, yet ironically represent their own cultures. It is interesting to see that the conflict now is physically visible as gates separating the Catholics from the Protestants.

Lecture on Energy, the Economy and the possible "futures" we face.

Dear Students,

This is for your enrichment, a lecture on the state of energy consumption by Dr Scott Tinker. It's very informative and set you thinking about your future in the global economy ahead, an economy that has to be powered by energy.

Listen to how he uses indicators to make his points.

Here's a link to another one of his talks: http://www.beg.utexas.edu/presentations/presentations/2012_presentations/SPE_Oct2012.pdf

GE4101 E-learning activity and worksheet

Dear Year 4 Geography students,

For this E-learning lesson lasting 2 periods, we are going to cover earthquakes and tsunamis. You are to use the timetabled lesson slot only.

Please also note that a reading pack will be distributed to you in your classes on Wednesday morning. The reading pack is for weathering, soils and slopes processes. Please read weathering and soils by next lesson, 2 April. The usual reading check for evidences of reading will apply.

You are to submit the following via the Google Form HERE.

*NEW* Here are your responses. Please view and look for your own, as well as view some others' to have a better idea.

For ideas on earthquake management: Visit the following:

How Southern California copes with earthquakes: http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/1995/fs225-95/ 
How US citizens prepare for earthquakes: http://www.ready.gov/earthquakes
Japan case study: Look at pages 41 and 42 for table summary of mitigation and agencies involved: http://www.oecd.org/japan/37377837.pdf 

Task 1: a description of the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami (200 words).
Task 2: a description of the 2004 Boxing Day Indian Ocean Tsunami (200 words).
Task 3: Watch the earthquake and tsunami video in this entry, be ready to give comments when I see you on 2 April.

Task 4: After visiting the websites allocated in this entry, prepare a discussion which we will have as part of module recap -To what extent can national governments prepare for natural hazards like earthquakes and tsunamis? [10m].

This is not graded but you need to show proof of preparation closer to exam revision. 
Prepare a 1 page list of what governments can do and associated challenges with the measures. Best to do it now, rather than later.

A note of caution FIRST:
A word about searching youtube for earthquakes and tsunamis. 1. You WILL SEE PEOPLE DIE, and they are NOT fictional movies. As such, please be emotionally prepared that these natural hazards do cost human lives, and living in today's information-age means we now get to see footage of actual destruction. Personally, I was quite traumatised watching a multi-parts documentary on the Boxing Day 2004 tsunami. As such, I decided to only let you watch the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami video below, which does not depict people dying, but do know that there was slightly more than 15,800 confirmed deaths from this tsunami.

Video: Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan, 2011 (some parts had weirdly placed music, just bear with it)


Please only make use of the resources provided here to do your 200-word descriptions. To search up more information will only take up more of your time, which you do not want to do so in your allocated 2 periods.

Useful links on the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami. Do note you are encouraged to visit the other links presented in these websites.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2011/usc0001xgp/#summary
http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/en/2011_Earthquake/Information_on_2011_Earthquake.html
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fast-facts-japan

Please do check out the following websites, which when taken together, gives a good overview of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. Do visit the related links cited in these websites.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/1227_041226_tsunami.html 
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2004/us2004slav/#summary
http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/tsunami/indianocean.html

Compare and contrast class practice (This is NOT homework)

Source 1: “What Doha did” from the Economist magazine

Since 2007 the annual negotiations by the parties to the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change have run on two “tracks”. One has been devoted to the Kyoto protocol, which limits the emissions of the rich countries that have ratified it, but nobody else’s. The other tries to set up long-term mechanisms to combat climate change. Doha’s achievement was to sort out this mess. The rich countries still signed up to Kyoto (Japan, Canada, Russia and some others have, in effect, left it) accepted ultra-modest new emissions targets for the period to 2020, which is when the new deal to be agreed in 2015 is meant to take effect. This leaves nothing more to negotiate under the Kyoto protocol. The catch-all second track was closed down. Just one lot of talks will now lead up to the 2015 conference in France.

Source 2: “Why the Doha Climate Conference was a success” by The Guardian (UK) newspaper

The EU wanted Doha to mark the transition away from the old climate regime, where only developed countries have the legal obligation to reduce emissions, to the new system where all countries, developed and developing alike, will for the first time make legal commitments under the new global agreement. Check. This is not a small achievement. Today, the average emission per capita in China is already 7.2 tonnes and increasing. Europe's is 7.5 tonnes and decreasing. The world cannot fight climate change without emerging economies committing. That is why crossing the bridge from the old system to the new system was so important. And we did it.

From sources 1 and 2, to what extent is the Doha Climate Change Conference seen as a successful conference? (7m)

Sustainable development timeline in-class exercise

Dear students,

Here's the link for our in-class activity:

A comparison of sustainable development international and singapore's timeline.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AkNH1U79c6yJdGpTU3hkak5xQ29icXhuNV8tZGR3VHc&usp=sharing

In class, we will be reading http://www.iisd.org/pdf/2012/sd_timeline_2012.pdf

Videos on Volcanoes

USGS's video on Mount Saint Helen, which they did not allow to embed... http://youtu.be/xP2dreOI8gI

This is definitely worth watching.


And for our class activity, we are going to answer (A) and (B) in groups

Crossing the lava video clip



The "pyroclastic flow"



(A) Explain the extent these video clips are representative of the destructive nature of acidic lava type volcanoes.

Traffic jams... a town in big trouble!


(B) Explain how volcanic hazard management has failed in this movie clip and explain how you will go about setting in place a volcanic hazard management program for a town like the one portrayed in the movie.