Team:SCUT/EconomicsandEthics
Economics and Ethics
In
order to evaluate our projects from multiple perspectives and to listen to more
diverse views, we have successfully invited Pro.Guo Shouqian, an economics professor at South China University
of Technology, to agree to our interview.
Here are our
interview notes.
Q: What do
you think about this project?
A: Using biological method to solve the problem
of cadmium ion pollution－In terms of the technical effect, this technology is advanced in
comparison to the previous physical or chemical methods, which is in line with
the requirements of social development. When it comes to the impact on the
economy, especially from the point of view of the enterprise，the feasibility of the technique depends on the cost of the
implementation and the subsequent maintenance. If a technique is more superior
both technologically and economically than the original, then it is of real
value, which can really promote social production and economic development.
Q: Can you predict what the business will take
on this technology？
A: Um…Industrial effluent must meet the
requirements of the national emission standard , which by law, cannot be
avoided. So once the technology is applied to practical use, will companies
remain with the traditional system or implement the new? To answer this
question, multiple aspects need to be considered. Firstly, does the new
technique have a higher efficiency and result of removing cadmium ion than the
traditional methods? Also, if the new technique has a lower detection limit so
that it can be closer to meeting the requirements of the government, of course
the enterprises will take a positive attitude towards it. Secondly, compared
with traditional physical and chemical method, the biological method can reduce
the use of chemical materials and energy, responding to the call of the low
carbon life and circular economy，which can create a
better social image for the companies.
Q:
What impact will the application of this technology have on society?
A: This
project is based on the principles and methods of synthetic biology, which is
still unfamiliar to the public. Once put into practice, it will change the
structure of labor demands to a certain extent. For example, the demand for
high-tech personnel will increase. People need to know more about biological
knowledge, and meanwhile, the biological safety standards will be improved too.
In addition, with the help of engineered organisms to carry out real-time
monitoring, automatic processing will rise, while the demand for workers will
fall.
Q: Please talk
about your feelings to the synthetic biology in the future.
A: Shi Yigong, a academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, have always
said that 21 Century is the century of biological sciences. In the microscopic
aspect, biology has advanced from the cellular level to molecular level when
exploring the nature of life. In the macroscopic aspect, the development of
ecology plays an important role in solving the global resources and environmental
problems. So I agree that there are good signs of development in this field. But
nowadays, the public's understanding of synthetic biology is not enough. People
may have been using products which are produced in a synthetic biological way,
but they do not realize. So strengthening and popularizing synthetic biology knowledge
to make this subject more close to life should be the first task.
At
the same time, governors and scientists need to consider the potential impact
of this technique. Scientists are making DNA sequences which have never existed
in the world. So the new DNAs don’t have any contrasts, and there is no system
and no policy to evaluate the security and restrict the project. How to use
this technique effectively and also conform the standard of human ethics, is a
problem which need to be addressed by scientists in the future.
According
to this interview, we learn that a valuable technique should achieve the goal of
higher efficiency and lower cost. At the same time, a new technique responding
to the call of the low carbon life and circular economy is able to create a
better social image for the companies.
Acknowledgement
Guo Shouqian, doctor, Professor, director of the Department of
economics, South China University of Technology, economics and trade, resources
and environmental economics.
Office：303 B South B10， SCUT Telephone：020-39380761
E-MAIL：sqguo@scut.edu.cn
Field of
Research：
Resources
and Environmental Economics，Recycling economy
PROJECT PHOTOS
