In the mentioned article (Introduction to Grand Challenges in Engineering), four main realms of human concerns are highlighted. These are inevitable circumstances whenever strives for improvement are made. Personally I felt the challenges of sustainability aspect is the most important in engineering profession and that sustaining water’s quantity and quality remains a priority till up to date.
There are many reasons to why answering the challenges of sustaining water conditions and amount is a must. One simple case is that water is a necessity. Water is vital for men’s survival and it has become an essential portion in our everyday’s life. With the situation of increasing population, there is definitely a need to sustain the demand of water in terms of quantity. The quality of water must also be maintained in potable standards for it to be usable.
Water is also deemed as a vital resource and not to be taken for granted as methods used to obtain water may not be applicable to every country. Therefore countries gained assurances by always looking for other technological alternatives suitable and applicable for them. One example is the NEWater technology specially developed by Singapore which is suitable for a country with limited or even no natural resources. Existing essential technologies which played a part or are essential to human’s living condition, may also be water-intensive dependent. Therefore it is also important that the resource requirement can be fulfilled and sustained.
Another important reason for addressing the challenge to sustain water’s quality is that it would directly affect engineering’s health issue challenges too. Top quality water is already a means of prevention for many diseases as they may have actually risen from having unclean water as their main source.
So in conclusion, sustaining the availability and quality of water is a definite important challenge for engineering. What uses will health prosperity, invulnerability and joyous living have if the basics and foundations of the civilisation can’t be sustained in the first place?
3 comments:
I definitely will have to agree that water is the most important necessity. It is part and parcel of our daily lives and we absolutely cannot live on Earth without having water. The discovery of new technologies such as NEWater to obtain quality water help countries makes full use of their limited natural resources. However, poorer and less developed countries such as Sierra Leone would not be able to benefit from such advanced technology. I feel that engineers should also focus on the sustainability of low cost technology as well as share their knowledge to these poor countries so that their own people are also able to enjoy quality water along with the rest of the world.
Water is indeed the most important necessity as everything we come in contact is related to water. Clean and unpolluted water is definately needed for everyone for good health. Engineers really need to focus on less developed country as what Hong En had said. Imagine yourself drinking some containminated water, is definately bad and awful.
Hi Eugene,
I like the way you used a specific example about NEWater to illustrate the role that technology can play in overcoming the water problem. It helps show how much engineers can do. Keep up the good work! ~ Ms Khoo :)
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