Summary of the article " Research on global sun block needed now" ( Keith, Parson, Morgan, 2010) ( Chung's post)

In recent years, geoengineering has been considered as one possible way to mitigate climate change, however, little research has been carried out by scientists and world's countries. The article aims at urging countries to conduct further research of solar-radiation management (SRM) before making any decisions towards this method.

In the first part of the article, the authors show the evidence of Mt Pinatubo as an illustration of the effectiveness and swiftness of utilizing SRM. However, the article also shows notification about the political risks and different damages between countries. It is recommended that countries should facilitate further complicated research on SRM to get a deeper understanding of SRM in order to negate critical environmental risks.

Then in the second part, the authors point out the current shortage of information as well as research funding for SRM. This fact may lead to the careless use of SRM in emergency situations while full understanding has not yet been obtained. The authors also suggest that simultaneous research in conducting SRM experiments and defending the environment against risks should be noticed by international leaders.

Ultimately, the article shows that the primary problem for SRM is how to maintain the consensus between countries towards the utilization of SRM. In addition, SRM also should not be governed by any countries. On the other hand, international cooperation will be a better way of approach. Simultaneously, the article demonstrates that it will be more advantageous for us if we know early about the hazards that SRM can cause.

To sum up, throughout the article, the authors suggest that responses towards mitigation of climate change should be in two ways: further evaluation of SRM and at the same time, reducing gas emissions(Keith, Parson, Morgan, 2010).

Peer Review on Jacky's "Nuclear Power's New Dawn" article( already commented in his post)

Generally, I think that this is a well-drafted and straightforward post of Jacky about the new dawn of nuclear power. The whole post have stated clearly his point of view that nuclear power can be advantageous for human and would be the most popular energy if we know how to handle the challenges properly.

First of all, I personally think that one of the strongest points of Jacky's post is the consistency in his support for the utilization of nuclear power. Throughout the post, he has used figures and facts to support his main idea. In addition, Jacky have also discussed some challenges that we are expected to overcome if we widely use the nuclear energy such as the material requirements and its high cost. Personally, I strongly agree with Jacky that nuclear power has many positive points that human beings can benefit from and it is our responsibility to know how to use it in a good way as " with great power, comes great responsibility" .

On the other hand, I think that the article can be better improved if Jacky can elaborate more on the disadvantages and challenges of nuclear energy as those are also great concerns for world leaders as material shortage and costs may not be main challenges. Admittedlly, there is many advantages that nuclear power may bring to us, however, extremely serious problems such as atomic explosion danger, possibilities of war and destruction are much more concerned about than costs and material requirements. Therefore, if Jacky can rebut and point out some possible solution for these problems, the article would be more convincing.

In conclusion, Jacky has been successful in bringing up the issue that is widely debated. Though there is some minor errors in grammar and content, however, in the limitation of a short blog post, I think that if the article was written a little bit longer, it would be better.

An Inconvenient Truth( 2006): Global Warming ( Chung's Post)

 

 As the final examination is coming shortly and I am trying to review the lectures and tutorials for six modules that I am taking this semester, I had a chance to watch again the documentary film “An Inconvenient Truth" directed by Davis Guggenheim. It is about the campaign of "the former next President of the United States”- as Al Gore jokingly introduces himself- to make the issue of global warming a recognized problem worldwide. Although Al Gores might make a joke about his former status at the beginning of this documentary film, what he was about to present to the world afterwards was definitely not a joke, but it was a truth- an inconvenient truth about the Earth’s climate crisis.

 

Firstly, Al Gore, who estimates that he has given his global warming presentation about a thousand times all over the world and he builds his argument with measured and real figures. He then reminisces about the 2000 election and his sister's death from lung cancer as reasons that have inspired him to the issue. He is no scientist, but he manages to convincingly portray himself as an expert on the topic. Al Gore claims that though he did make great efforts to encourage the world’s countries to combat climate change, however; on the contrary, Former US President George W. Bush has tried to make the United States unaffected by the Kyoto Protocol.

 

In addition, Al Gore asserts that global warming is an incontrovertible issue that is really happening and among scientists, there is one hundred percent of agreement on the threat. His presentation also includes evidence that counters views of many critics who claim that global warming is an insignificant problem and has yet to be proven. Throughout his address, Al Gore has shown several striking images of current consequences because of climate change and his country is a vivid example. The presentation has revealed the severity of sea invasion in Florida as well as the destructive power of Katrina and Rita hurricanes in New Orleans.

 

Subsequently, Al Gore argues that “global warming is really not a political issue, so much as a moral one". With many well-selected figures and graphs, he shows that how to maintain the harmony between economical properties of products and moral issues is also a dilemma for many countries. American car makers, for instance, are currently losing their profits because US standards are so high that their products cannot be exported to Europe and Asia. 

 

To sum up his presentation, Al Gore argues that if appropriate actions are taken soon, the effects of global warming can be successfully reversed by releasing less CO2 and planting more vegetation to consume existing CO2. He also invites people to "change the things that we buy, the electricity we use, the cars we drive".  Moreover, Al Gore calls upon his supporters to learn how they can help him in these efforts as he believes that the will to act is also a renewable resource. 

 

In conclusion, “An Inconvenient Truth” is a well-argued and remarkable film about global warming. It is better to be aware of the issue and take several precautions beforehand rather than unconsciously letting global warming happen and then making the world feel regretful. Knowledge is empowering and “An Inconvenient Truth” is not a depressing film. Al Gore's forecast is serious, but he knows better than to leave us in despair. Currently, we are only lacking the political will to do anything about what Al Gore calls a "moral imperative" and he insists that the solutions to the problem are within our reach if we starts actions now because there is always room for hope.

 

Comments on GengXin's Review (Done by Fan Lei)

Thanks GengXin for the review. I think he did he did point out my problem of this essays. It is "quite academic", as what he said, and it is difficult for ordinary readers understand it. In my first draft, I focused too much on the uncertainties of the climate models themselves instead of talking about why and how much the government could rely on them to make policies. I kept on providing information but forget to derive my own idea, thus making readers tired of the tedious professional issues.

And another problem is about the language. Some sentences in this essay is confusing and inaccurate, as I tried to make them long. It is undoubtedly a shortcoming for academic writing. Because if the sentence is too long and with so many definitions in it, it will certainly confuse people.

So to sum up, the improvements I should make for this essay is that, "to think actively and write clearly". I think only an inspiring and clear article can attract readers, but at this time, I lack both of these in this draft. However, I will try to make more discussion on my own opinion of the pros and cons of relying on the present climate models, thus making it worth reading.

Peer Review of Shao Tu's WA2 (by Pulkit Agarwal)

Shao Tu's essay has a very impact-full introduction with very appropriate examples being used with good corelation to past experiences.It also exhibits a very coherent and powerful way of expressing his thoughts.I pretty much liked the manner in which Shao Tu by posing several question was able to gather attention of the readers. Though I do feel that there was a lack of clarity as whether he is supporting the use of nuclear power as source of electricity or he is opposing .

Apart from this,I was highly impressed by the way Shau Tu was able to project both sides of the issue through the arguments presented but ,at the same time I was still confused as to which side is he taking. The essay maintains a constant flow and there was a good linkage between different aspects of the issue that were disscussed in the arguments.The examples that are used in the essay are very well connected to environment and can be related to our day to day lives .

At the end,I would just like to appreciate his sincere effort as his essay clearly portrays his in-depth research and hard work.Although if Shao Tu would have been a bit more clear as to which side of the argument he is favoring,it would have been much more influential.

Peer review of Pukit's WA2 (by Shao Tu)

In the WA2, Pukit has given a brief introduction on the nuclear power energy and listed accurate reasons to explain why we should invest for a further development on this field.

In general, this essay is quite convincing and well organized. In the first paragraph, a common phenomenon is illustrated that nuclear power has always been related to danger and panic during these years. By using the phrase, apart from, the author gave out his point that, he would support nuclear power which is also the theme statement. However, i think Pulkit did not directly ansewer the qustion of WA2 but focused more on advocating that nuclear power was benefitial and deserved the investment. This makes the themes sentence fuzzy.

The next two paragraphs are closely related as two strong auguments to support the arthor's view. Examples and statistics were used here which made the arguments more comvincing and accurate. Especially in the third paragraph, the author gave a further discussion on the lead cooled generator which is quite precise.

In the end, a comprehensive conclusion is drawn to help the readers to review the main topic of this essay. Words and expressions used in this essay are quite accurate which impressed me a lot as i myself is weak in this part.

I believe that after some careful polishing, this essay can definately be much better.

Review of Fan Lei's essay

Fan Lei's essay talks comprehensively about the aspects of the climate model that may possibly influence our decision making on climate issues in the future.

In the first paragraph, the essay gives us an example of how a disaster was averted from happening to the people near Russian River by using the climate model established twenty years ago which oversees the climate conditions of Russian River area. Drawn from the example is the notion that the modeling of climate can be used to help us understand the climate issues in the future.

Then, in the following two paragraphs, the essay mainly states the advantages of the climate model and what benefits we could possibly gain in applying the climate models. One of the benefits is to predict disaster and another is to combat climate change.

Following that, the essay comes to the parts where discuss the negative sides of the climate change. Since, by now, we still do not have sufficient climate information that can cover the area of the whole earth, the conclusion we get may not be accurate. Moreover, there would also be some human error in modeling the climate. Therefore, it is not good enough for us to rely on currently.
The conclusion of the essay is that we should exploit the useful parts of the climate models with its flaws bearing in mind.

The organization of the essay is clear and logical. The main idea of each paragraph is also clear. However, the essay seems to be quite academic. For those who do not have knowledge in the area, it would be a bit difficult to understand. And the language used in the essay sometimes is confusing and accurate.
After all, it is a good essay and if the abovementioned flaws can be improved, it will be a better one.