Technology in Climate Change

technology in cliMate

How Technology could be a Solution to Climate Change

Temperatures increase and oceans rise. Coastal cities become engulfed in water. Crops stop growing and famine spreads. Wars are fought over climate change. The most severe problem is climate change, and unless we find a way to stop it, it will continuously get more dangerous for us and our environment, and it will only steadily get worse as time goes on. That’s where technology comes

in: technology can help eliminate climate change in the quickest and most efficient way possible. Humanity can use the current knowledge of technology they currently have to build structures and buildings that will change the world, such as by changing our sources of energy to be nature friendly, and improve our understanding of technology to develop more efficient ways of stopping climate change. The more pollution on earth, the more it affects the species living on the planet, including us. If nobody does anything soon, the problems will only get worse. Ice caps are melting, animals are losing their habitats, Earth’s global temperature is rising, natural disasters are increasing and air is slowly advancing towards becoming unbreathable. If this is continuously ignored, these problems will continue to grow more and more dangerous, and Earth’s temperature will rise to dangerously high levels. However, this problem could be eradicated if humans rely on technology and use it to their advantage. Carbon dioxide emissions are from factories, generators and mines. These emissions increase global warming. Factories use fossil fuels and electricity to run machines to create useful tools, devices and other miscellaneous items. Humans get electricity from burning fossil fuels and nuclear energy, which generate steam, water, combustion gasses or air to rotate turbines which will convert it into kinetic or mechanical energy to generate electricity. Additionally, these power plants generate pollution, which can take the form of ocean pollution, light pollution, noise pollution and radioactive contamination. All of these kinds of pollution contribute to climate change, which won’t ever stop until action is taken. Peter Kamus is a climate scientist. Kamus’ goal is to spread awareness about climate change, its effects and how devastating it can be. He wants to stop climate change before it causes more damage to planet Earth and its inhabitants. Not many people are actually concerned about climate change, as they always just brush it off and leave that problem for later. “I think most people don’t realize that it’s effectively irreversible, the damage that gets done to the Earth system,” Kamus said. As the climate worsens, climate change may have impacts outside of just harming the environment. “Wars based on climate impacts are probably going to start happening at some point in the future,” Kamus said. “We should be studying that and talking about it

The air is being polluted. People are having to leave becuase of this. Photo Credit: CNN

By: Zach May

Robotic hand holding a tree, symbolizing technology. Photo Credit: Azo Robotics

The Stanton Solar Farm in Orlando. It produces six Megawatts of electricity per day which is enough to power 1,200 homes. Photo Credit: CNS

Hydropower is one of the biggest source of renewable power with a maximime power generation of 1,307GW. Image Credit: Samo Trebizan.

and taking it seriously and doing everything we can to avoid it.” The more pollution on earth, the more it affects the species living on the planet, including humans. If nobody does anything soon, the problems will only get worse. Coral reefs can not be brought back very easily, Kamus explained. “When you look at the fossil records, you see that it takes about 10 million years for biodiversity to recover after a mass extinction event,” Kamus said. Technology, however, enables people to monitor the climate and the patterns that occur over time. Satellites are used to collect data about the climate, which is essential to study the climate and the patterns that occur. Dr. John Nielsen-Gammon is the Texas State Climatologist and a meteorologist. Nielsen-Gammon focuses on studying the biggest issues relating to the weather in Texas. Through his work, Nielsen-Gammon is able to help people better understand what is happening in the weather and “As state climatologist, my mission is to help the state of Texas make the best possible use of weather and climate information,” NielsenGammon said. “When I started out,

This is an image of one of the worlds largest goldmine which producecs more than two million ounces of gold in 2020. This mine was discoved int 1958 and measures about 3.5km by 3.5 km and has a depth of 600m. Photo courtacy of Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combine Graphic a earth melting. Photo Credit: Duke Today

and computer programming to create models and look at further climate projection. Computer programs can be used to analyze the weather and understand how the climate works. The computer system can be used, “not just to look at future climate projections, but also to understand how the climate system actually works,” Nielsen-Gammon said. Multiple computer programs can be used to make statistical analyses of the climate. Examples of these programs include Unix, Linux, Python, or R, Kamus explained. Kamus also works on publishing articles about climate change to spread information about it. Technology and the internet enable him to increase awareness about the issue. In his articles, Kamus describes the dangers of climate change and all of the consequences the planet may face due to it. “Most of the articles I write are about just trying to raise urgency and to say things that I don’t see getting said in the media to kind of connect the dots,” Kamus said. “I’m trying to convince the public that this is a lot more serious than they think, climate ecological breakdown.” However, it is necessary for us to take action and not hide from climate change. To achieve this, articles must have more detail on the steps of how disasters may occur to allow people to better understand what the climate may look like over time. “I try to point out that, you know, if we, if we started to lose coastal cities, because of sea level rise, then how’s that gonna affect the insurance industry? How’s that gonna affect the economic system? And then if we start getting, you know, regional crop failures, at the same time, in different parts of the world, how’s that gonna affect food prices? And will that lead to famine in different countries?” Kamus said. Popularizing renewable energy and addressing the severity of climate change can aid in ending climate change. With modern technology available in the hands of humans, electricity can be generated in ways that don’t harm the environment. That specific type of energy is called renewable energy, which can be produced using many different advanced technologies. The three main and most efficient sources are solar panels, wind turbines, and hydropower. They work by using natural forces and using advanced technology and design to convert it into electricity or other forms of energy. Solar panels work by gathering ultraviolet waves from the sun to convert it and generate electric currents which will then be used. Wind turbines work by using wind to spin large turbine blades which will create electricity from the friction caused by the rotating shaft connected to the turbine blades. Hydropower utilizes dams by installing many water wheels in the shaft where water flows down which will spin the wheels which will then generate mechanical energy, which will be converted to electricity. The upside to all of these available options is that they are efficient in producing energy and ecofriendly, which means that they don’t pollute. The down side to this solution is the expenses to construct and pay for these power generators. However, overall the pros outweigh the cons, as they produce energy without polluting the environment and could put an end to climate change. Humanity should start working together to find ways to contribute to popularizing renewable energy generators and convince other people and countries to also join in on ending climate change. Then humanity will eventually mitigate climate change and eventually vanquish climate change.

A windmill that can create resusable wind energy. Photo Credit: Unsplash