Climate change is one of the greatest threats to humanity in the 21st century. Rising carbon emissions aren’t just melting the ice caps and increasing the sea level. It’s also affecting weather conditions across the globe, threatening food supplies, and causing natural disasters. Fortunately, scientists and researchers are designing new solutions to combat climate change. Here are a few bleeding-edge innovations that can help you fight climate change.
Governments across the world have vowed to reduce carbon emissions from the atmosphere. While that’s a step in the right direction, wouldn’t it be amazing if carbon emissions could be pulled out and reduced from the atmosphere? Fortunately, there are several technologies that are working towards carbon capture and storage solutions.
Collectively they are known as carbon Capture Utilization and Storage(CCUS) technologies. From giant fans that draw in carbon dioxide to filters that can absorb all the greenhouse gasses and convert them into usable dry ice or carbon rods. The usefulness of this technology is attracting a lot of investment for scaling up and bringing us closer to carbon neutrality.
While renewable energy and energy storage solutions are essential tools to fight climate change, humanity needs to use the entire arsenal at its disposal. As more things go electric, nuclear energy can emerge as a viable option for powering our future. Unfortunately, nuclear fuel comes with its own disadvantages. From radioactive waste that can’t be disposed of properly to nuclear disasters and limited access to nuclear fuel.
Fortunately, all those problems may be solved as we get closer to unlocking unlimited energy with nuclear fusion. Scientists have already unlocked the secrets of fusion with a new breakthrough and we are getting closer to unlimited and clean energy without any negative consequences.
Livestock generates a significant fraction of global greenhouse emissions. They require large swathes of green pastures that are unproductive otherwise and the animals themselves release a lot of greenhouse gasses throughout their life. Moreover, as the appetite for meat increases, large swathes of forest cover are removed to create new pastures, increasing the risk of climate change.
Goin vega may be the solution for some, but it’s impossible to make drastic changes to the diet of most of the populace. Fortunately, lab-grown meat is emerging as a viable solution. After Singapore, the US has also approved lab-grown meat for sale in the country. Wider adoption can help us build a greener future.
Since the pandemic, the world got hooked on remote work and it became the norm across many organizations. While remote work comes with its own list of cons, it also saves the planet by reducing emissions from corporate buildings. With technology advancements, remote work would spread beyond service-based industry and help reduce the energy consumption of the entire planet.
For instance, farmers already have access to remote GPS tractors and other industrial farm equipment that sow seeds, fertilize the ground, and harvest the crop while tracking and updating real-time data on the produce. As AR and VR tech gets more advanced and cheaper, workers will be able to control unsafe and complicated equipment from their homes.
The climate crisis remains imminent. However, with a united front of emerging technologies, we can solve this problem and make the planet healthier and greener.
Mr. Robert Willson is one of the few geeks who never gets tired when it comes to technology. From the latest gadgets to AI and machine learning, Mr. Willson translates them into easy-to-digest insights. Where there is tech, there is him!
