|
Mrs. Chan lives in Hong Kong in the year 2050. Hong Kong is no longer the vibrant city it used to be - instead, it is one plagued by strife and unrest. Mrs. Chan is a retiree who lives in a public estate overlooking an extremely busy highway. She often tries to take naps, but is disturbed by the overwhelming noise from the traffic below. Even with her windows closed, the racket is unbearable. Mrs. Chan's life is filled with misery; she is a widow, who seeks peace and solitude, but her abode is a far cry from the cottage in the rolling green meadows she envisaged. Instead, Mrs. Chan's flat has a repulsive view of a landfill which stretches over the horizon, miles upon miles of decaying refuse. She often has her windows closed, and her curtains drawn - she is asthmatic and the pollution and stench are life-threatening. Mrs. Chan is often depressed. Her mood is often worsened by how little natural sunlight filters through her windows, not less because her flat faces an imposing mountainside, but also because it continually rains, up to several weeks at a time. The rain is almost incessant, but Mrs. Chan has been told there will be little improvement - the downpours are part of climate change known as global warming.
There is very little to cheer Mrs. Chan up these days. Two years ago, torrential rain decimated her son's dried seafood business - he lost thousands of dollars worth of supplies. Her son sought to find information on when heavy rain would next target the city - but found none on the internet or anywhere else, for that matter. He lost another batch of supplies to recent flooding. Watching the news brought Mrs. Chan into even deeper depression. Recently, a hundred schoolchildren developed fatal stomach cancer after eating fish that had been contaminated by pollutants. With the heavy rain, landslides were occurring all over the city. Hundreds died when one buried a shanty town's inhabitants alive. Worst still was that horrifying collision of two planes when a sudden wind change occurred - the aircrafts exploded in infernos, incinerating the passengers within.
Mrs. Chan's world would seem to most a ridiculous impossibility. Yet, it could be a distinct prospect if not for the monumental role that science has played. In Hong Kong, science forms a vital pillar of public service, so much so, that often, we take for granted the technology that upholds our wellbeing. In this essay, I consider the importance of some of the technical advances, in the context of the negative consequences that would transpire in their absence. After all, we only appreciate what we do have, when we no longer have it.
One of the problems Mrs. Chan faced was her appalling living environment - particularly the adverse effects of having a highway, landfill, and mountainside adjacent to her estate. Fortunately, such situations are avoided by the Architectural Services Department's promotion of sustainable building. The Department seeks to ensure all public buildings are constructed in a way which ensures an optimum environment, for instance, by having buildings face away from main roads and planting greenery. Structures are designed to allow for maximum sunlight through the widespread use of glass and adept window-positioning - this is both comforting to residents and saves electricity for lighting. Sustainable design promotes the use of environmentally-friendly building materials to reduce construction waste, which prevents pile-ups in landfills. Excessive noise is also prevented by the use of photo-realistic 3D modeling of noise environments, which would allow management to more effectively understand and tackle the incessant noise experienced by Mrs. Chan.
Another problem which features in Mrs. Chan's world is the intolerable levels of pollution. Science has contributed to alleviating this problem by allowing us to pool various forms of data - emissions, ozone and meteorological information - to create a comprehensive system known as PATH. PATH enables the government to track down the greatest sources of emissions, and therefore set policy to reduce pollution, in Hong Kong and in the Pearl River Delta. If we are able to successfully utilize this technology, a miserable future of pollution, such as Mrs. Chan's, could be precluded.
Mrs. Chan's world is plagued by continual rain, due to global warming. Climate change seems to be inevitable - however, science has enabled us to take steps to prevent the seemingly unpreventable. The Hong Kong Observatory has been able to map the effects of global warming on Hong Kong's climate, suggesting hot days and heavy rainfall are in store ahead. Understanding the possible effects is certainly the first step in the fight against global warming.
Even if heavy rainfall is inevitable, science has developed to reduce its detriments. A radar-based system known as SWIRLS allows the Hong Kong Observatory to track and forecast severe weather. In cooperation with Drainage Services Department, information is disseminated through text-messages and the internet, allowing businesses, such as that of Mrs. Chan's son, to make necessary preparations for flooding. The Geographic Information System also amalgamates geographical and meteorological data to highlight areas most susceptible to landslips, sending out warnings to prevent civilian death.
In Mrs. Chan's world, hundreds of schoolchildren are killed by highly-contaminated fish. Science prevents such a tragedy, by regulating food products for cancer-causing ingredients, in particular in condiments such as soya sauce, which the fish could have been cooked with.
Technology would also be able to avert fatal plane collisions due to sudden wind changes known as windshears, as in Mrs. Chan's world. A "LIDAR" system helps meteorologists forecast the likelihood of windshears and their potential effects on a plane's flight-path. In addition, an "Integrated Air Control" system allows control tower operators to view large volumes of data simultaneously on many screens, allowing them to operate more efficiently to avert disaster.
Mrs. Chan's world seems distant and impossible, thankfully because science has considerably improved the range and quality of public service. As technology continues to advance, each and every one of us can hope to live an even better and more comfortable life!
|
