Critical Reflection- Final

During my polytechnic days, even though I attended academic writing modules and had many essay writing assignments, there was not much emphasis placed on grammar and language. Hence, there are still many areas of improvement for my English writing.

Personally, I feel that this module is very useful as it helps to enhance our writing skills which are essential in our academic course. There are two tutorial sessions every week and this provided us with intensive training to improve our writing skills. During the first week of lesson, I recalled writing a short paragraph about my English language journey. I recalled making the mistake of writing ’26 alphabets’ instead of ’26 letters’. Now, I know that the alphabet consists of the 26 letters.  Apart from this, I feel that I have improved in terms of my grammar competency. For example, I had learned the difference between the words “will” and “would”. In the past, I used to think that there is no difference between the two words and have the tendency to use them interchangeably. However, after attending ES1102, I am able to use the words in the appropriate context. In addition, I have learned the importance of using linking words in the essay. The problem solving assignment is a great practice for us to apply the knowledge that we have learned in class. This includes research on relevant articles, planning, draft writing, and with the feedback from Professor and classmates, we can further improve on our essays.

This module has also encouraged me to be more aware of my writing as compared to previously. Moreover, the class activities, peer reviewing, various assignments (summary writing, reader response, and problem solving essay), and online grammar exercises had helped me to enhance my English learning journey. Through the mistakes that I have made in the various tasks, I am able to learn from them and try to prevent myself from making similar mistakes in the future. There are some areas which I feel that I can improve on, such as minimizing grammatical errors in my writing assignments and avoiding repeating words. Also, I have the tendency to spend a lot of time on reading an article, thus it is important for me to explore and practice the reading strategies introduced in this course.

In conclusion, the course had helped me to acquire skills and knowledge needed to research on articles and enabled me to have a better understanding of the essay writing process. I believe that with more practice, I will be able to remember and apply what has been taught and this will definitely assist me to perform better in future writing assignments.

Problem Solving Essay FINAL- Environmental Issues

There is no common agreement on how globalization can be defined, however, one can understand globalization as an ongoing process of global integration that includes economic integration through trade, investment and capital flows, political interaction, information technology and culture (Panayotou, 2000). Despite the significant positive impacts that globalization has had on the global economic growth, globalization has also resulted in major environmental problems which require individuals and the governments to collaborate in addressing the issues. One of the major environmental problems is air pollution which has increased markedly as globalization leads to the expansion of international investments and forests have to be cleared for industrial development and the increase in burning of fossil fuels in the industries. In addition, globalization leads to technological advancement of transportation and the widespread use of transports contribute to air pollution.

Air pollution is a major environmental risk to people’s health. There are negative impacts on the health of an individual which include eye, nose and throat irritation. In addition, it poses significant health risk to people with chronic heart or lung disease, such as heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma (Ministry of Health, 2013). Referring to Prather (2011) research on how air in China can affect the weather in America, reporting that “The atmosphere has no walls, so pollution on this side of the world can make it the other side of the world in about five days” (Blackstone, 2011). In Singapore, the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) hit a new record high of 371 during June 2013 due to foreign fires in neighbouring Indonesia. The culprits of the forest fires on the Western Indonesian island of Sumatra were the palm oil and pulpwood companies. The haze reach hazardous levels and outdoor activities had to stop. Thus, these examples have demonstrated how the air pollution problem in a country can affect different parts of the world posing significant health risks to the individuals. Moreover, it has helped to recognize the importance of addressing the air pollution problem.

One existing solution that the Singapore government has adopted is implementing a comprehensive approach in working towards clean air. The Environmental Pollution Control Act (EPCA) was implemented in 1999 to control air pollution from industrial sources. The National Environment Agency (NEA) inspects regularly to assess and evaluate the pollution produce by all of the industries in Singapore. Moreover, in order to set up an industry in Singapore, industry has to comply with the pollution control requirement and locate at an appropriate industrial estate (NEA, 2013). With legislation such as EPCA in Singapore, it has effectively helped to reduce industries such as food processing, cement works and sawmills which are harmful to our environment (Koh, 2002) and Singapore’s air quality is healthy, with 96% of PSI in the accepted range during 2011 (NEA, 2013). Apart from the regular inspection of the stationary sources of pollution, the NEA should impose fines on factories which have emitted harmful gases to the environment. Representatives from NEA could reach out to the employees as well as the top management of the factories to raise awareness about the importance of reducing air pollution so that factories implement eco-friendly practices. In addition, incentives and awards could be provided yearly to industries that have performed actively in eco-friendly practices. Thus, the air pollution issue can only be ameliorated through cooperation among the governments, individuals and companies.

Apart from air emission from the industries, motor vehicles are another key source of air pollution in Singapore. Moreover, the NEA standardizes the quality and type of fuel that can be used in Singapore to control the emission of harmful gases created by vehicles. In addition, the NEA promotes the use of environmental friendly vehicles through rebates and tax incentives. In 2014, Singapore will adopt the Euro V standard for diesel vehicles and keeping tax low to encourage the earlier adoption of cleaner diesel technology (Tan, 2012). Controlling the emission of harmful gases through standardizing the quality and type of fuel that can be used is effective to a certain extent. However, according to the study conducted by the Land Transport Authority in 2012, there was an increase in the number of vehicles in Singapore (LTA, 2012) which contribute to the emission of gases which leads to air pollution. Thus, one proposed solution would be to encourage the use of public transportation. Environmental campaigns could be organized in the neighborhood to raise public awareness of environmental issues and educate individuals about benefits of taking public transport on the environment. Furthermore, the public transport must remain at an affordable price to attract Singaporeans to start or continue using it. For instance, instead of only having the student concession rate, the government can collaborate with the LTA to introduce adult concession cards. This can encourage the working adults to use public transport for commuting.

In conclusion, despite the existing solutions implemented by the state to address the issue of air pollution, cooperation and consistent effort from the governments, organizations as well as individuals is crucial in addressing the issue which is one of the negative impacts of globalization.

References

Blackstone, J. (2011). Pollution from China alters weather in U.S. West. Retrieve from http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57341838/pollution-from-china-alters-weather-in-u.s-west/

Koh, K.L. (2002).  A Singapore Case Study: Cleaning Up Air Pollution in a Generation. Retrieved from http://law.nus.edu.sg/apcel/publications/pub/kohkhenglian/Singapore_Clean_Air.pdf

Land Transport Authority. (2012). Singapore Land Transport Statistic in Brief. Retrieved from http://www.lta.gov.sg/content/dam/ltaweb/corp/PublicationsResearch/files/FactsandFigures/Stats_in_Brief_2012.pdf

Ministry of Health. (2013). Frequently asked question on Haze. Retrieved from http://www.moh.gov.sg/content/moh_web/home/pressRoom/Current_Issues/2013/haze/frequently-asked-questions--faqs--on-haze-and-your-health.html

Panayotou, T. (2000). Globalization and environment. Retrieved from http://www.hks.harvard.edu/var/ezp_site/storage/fckeditor/file/pdfs/centers-programs/centers/cid/publications/faculty/wp/053.pdf

National Environment Agency. (2013). Air Quality and Target. Retrieved from http://app2.nea.gov.sg/anti-pollution-radiation-protection/air-pollution

Tan, C. (2012, February 18). Tax for greener diesel cars slashed. The Straits Times.