Charmaine and Carol's STS Report

THE NATIONAL INNOVATION SYSTEM OF TAIWAN (by Chi-Ming Hou and San Gee )

Summaries of Article Readings in STS Class (Carol and Charmaine)

ADVANCES IN TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGY*
by Richard P. Brennan

• In this Article, Brennan talks about how transportation technology developed over time.
• He talked about thr fundamental scientific laws govern the ability of an automobile engine to convert the energy in the fuel to a form that is able to propel the car down the road - First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics.
• Also, the Four-Stroke Otto Cycle Engine Operation was has been discussed.
• The same four strokes - intake, compression, power, and exhaust - can also be carried out by the pistons in the diesel engine.
• A third type of engine, Wankel engine, has also been compared to the otto engines.

When Oil Runs Out... Where will energy be sourced?

Every year, we demand for 400 quadrillion of British Thermal Units (Source: US Department of Energy). And, 88 % of this is nonrenewable: oil, coil and natural gas (collectively known as fossil fuel reserves). But, just how limited are our fossil fuel reserves? Some say it will be depleted in 50 years, others say it will be 100 to 200 years (Source: ecology.com). It doesn’t matter who is right about the remaining years of fossil fuel reserves, for there is only one fact: these reserves will run out soon. What matters is the innovations and inventions that the world could have so to have “sustainable energy.”

The Reproductive Health Bill: Under Scrutiny

For quite some time now, the reproductive health bill had bannered the morning newspapers, leads the everyday news, and became a major issue in the senate, but what does the reproductive health bill really means? What belief does it stand for? Will it help solve our population problem?

The reproductive health bill has the purpose of educating the Filipinos about family planning. It promotes two child policy and the use of contraception, but it has one catch, it doesn’t coerce or command the couple to choose family planning. The entirety of the said bill only wants to inform the Filipinos about our population problem and how it affects every single individual in our country.