What role could new technologies play in addressing the climate crisis?
The United States and other countries have well-developed programs in scientific and technical research and development - in many sectors, such as health care, security, and the environment. For years, climate scientists, policy makers, and proviate sector companies have been hopeful that new technologies could play a signifcant role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, or GHGs. Share your views about the importance of new technologies in this arena. Here are two articles that address this issue.
Read in Bloomberg Businessweek: https://apple.news/AuKG_ygP5S46wrr8dM6RYMg
Read in Scientific American: https://apple.news/A-3IMKW0tSFWRaesD5lNA5A
I feel finding technologies to mitigate the causes of the climate crisis is imperative to tacking this world wide problem, for as it stands it seems imperative that we try to reverse the environmental impact that we have had. However, these patches should not distract us from the root causes of the climate crisis and the ways that we can substitute these processes and ways of life for ones that are less impactful on the environment; technologies that aid in this shift are the most integral part tackling the climate crisis, for we can only apply so many patches.
ReplyDeleteBenjamin, you've touched on an important aspect of not letting technology distract us from addressing the root causes of climate change. Could you elaborate on specific 'patches' you believe are diverting attention from more sustainable lifestyle changes? Are you referring to trying to solve the root issue instead of treating the symptoms of climate change with technology? Can you give me any specific examples of technology or patches you are thinking of?
DeleteOne paper that goes into great depth on this topic is on utilizing machine leaning (sequential intelligence models similar to chat models such as Chat GPT and such) to create trends for global action to combat written by Anne J. Sietsma, Emily Theokritoff, and others and published by Climate Analytics. The paper goes into details on how sequential programs can easily and rapidly make and predict climate trends based on hundreds of papers and research data. The main advantage of using a program is mainly the speed as the program presented made several predictions and trends a day where a one or even a group of data analytics could make one trend a week at best, with most of the time spent sorting through dozens of papers, with just one could account for dozens of pages. These trends could then be presented to global comities such as the Paris conference and then be used to help in planning against harmful effects of climate change. The paper also talks about the surprising lack of such research being performed on using machine leaning models to help predict global trends and I support Climate Analytics mission to increase the amount of research being done on this topic and hopefully it will spread to other industries as well.
ReplyDeletehttps://ca1-clm.edcdn.com/One-Earth-Machine-learning-evidence-map-reveals-global-differences-in-adaptation-action.pdf?v=1705309190
DeleteJack, the potential for machine learning to predict climate trends is fascinating. As a computer science major, I am always learning about new machine learning advancements. Do you think there's a risk of overreliance on technological predictions which might delay immediate action based on current knowledge? And even if we are able to make powerful/accurate predictions into the future, do you think that humans will actually act on this information. In other words, we already know that the climate crisis is happening, but I believe not enough is being done. Do you think that (machine learning) predictions will change the ways we act?
Deletehttps://www.empa.ch/web/s604/wearable-solar-cells
ReplyDeleteI saw online about fabric that can function as solar panels and capture the sun's energy. Having solar power in our cloths can allow it to function as a portable energy source. Normal solar panels need to be made of rigid material but these researchers used a flexible polymer in order to let it be used in fabric. They also won't become brittle over time and aren't affected by water. Having renewable energy in our clothes could help a lot with the climate crisis.
I think that this is crucial that we adapt new technology for sustainability in the future. Certainly we need to try and find ways to use technology to help mitigate the effects of climate change that have already occured but this could be more difficult. In my opinion we should focus to make more advancements for technology to use cleaner resources in the coming age. This can make the environment for more sustainable and help to address the climate change crisis at the forefront. New technology in a sense can help slow the crisis, then we can try to adapt technology to bring back some of the damages already occurred. I think that some technology that I have heard of that is newer that should be looked into is getting more solar and wind solutions into areas that lack sustainable energy sources and that heavily rely on fossil fuels. It needs to be a priority to efficiently produce clean power to meet up with the standards that people have grown used to to make a big impact.
ReplyDeleteOn article that I found is https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilsayegh/2022/04/21/how-climate-change-impacts-it/?sh=764b3c796e52. This article talks about how climate change can effect current technology. One point that stood out to me was when it was talking about climate change and national security risks. The article goes into depth about how some hackers take advantage of climate crisis to hack into systems. I think that if the weather continues to change this might also change how we use technology. This might rule out some current green system technology that we have in place.
ReplyDeleteAnother aspect of technology that I feel that some people haven't addressed yet is the large amount of energy that it takes for AI Research and AI services. This article from the Yale School of Environment: https://e360.yale.edu/features/artificial-intelligence-climate-energy-emissions addresses this point very well. As AI improves in the future, the amount of energy it consumes will grow as well. Because our system still relies on fossil fuels a lot, the large energy consumption could harm our goal to fight climate change.
ReplyDeleteAleksander, the energy consumption of AI is indeed a concern. In your opinion, what are the most promising approaches to make AI research and services more energy-efficient without stifling innovation? How do you think this technology should be used?
DeleteI recently saw a statistic about the energy usage of data centers that are used to train large language models (like ChatGPT) that I found staggering.
According to a University of Washington researcher, the energy used for training such a model can be as much as the yearly electricity consumption of over 1,000 U.S. households. Furthermore, the daily queries that ChatGPT processes can cost around 1 gigawatt-hour (GWh) each day, equivalent to the daily energy consumption of about 33,000 U.S. households.
Here is that source: https://www.washington.edu/news/2023/07/27/how-much-energy-does-chatgpt-use/
DeleteI think we'll 100% need new technologies to stop the climate crisis. Not even just because we need technologies that specifically help the climate but because so much of the technology we use and the energy is used just isn't sustainable. I think in the near future if we want to stop climate change then we need to focus heavily on making our technology more sustainable in addition to developing new tech that helps us fight climate change.
ReplyDeleteThis article talks about how technology can be used to help minimize emissions due to transportation, but that we'd also need large scale social change that many will not adopt unless it's a law, which puts pressure on policy makers to make more widespread climate change policies. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0966692306001207
DeleteI think that the development of new technologies will be essential in stopping or at least slowing down the effects of climate change. A really big part of this is developing cleaner and more sustainable energy sources. However, I think that another equally important thing is government actions. Regulations on things like carbon emissions for factories and subsidies for clean energy sources could make a big difference.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this I immediately thought of gas and oil and how technology could help a lot with the emissions within this industry. Currently this industry gets a bad reputation. One company that is making change is Exxon Mobil. They have come out with a plan to produce zero emissions by year 2050. A change like this is essential and revolutionary. We must see more technology changes to help curve harm that we are currently seeing. I got this information from https://corporate.exxonmobil.com/sustainability-and-reports/advancing-climate-solutions?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=1ECX_BING_TRAF_OT_Non-Brand_ACS&utm_content=OT_Non-Brand_ACS&utm_term=climate+change&gclid=d623a81ed97b1152697dcdf0fba01dbd&gclsrc=3p.ds&msclkid=d623a81ed97b1152697dcdf0fba01dbd#Explorethereport
ReplyDeleteWhile I completely agree that there is certainly a place for developing technology in the efforts to reduce emissions, I feel that our current technology is sufficient to make the greatest amount of change. We are not going to find the perfect solution to this problem so that everyone can continue living their exact same lifestyle while also rectifying the climate crisis. Technological developments should be focused on maximizing the efficiency of the systems we have, while we replace the outdated systems with things that we know are effective. At the same time, governments must create regulations that encourage improving systems instead of creating and developing brand new ones. Examples of this include subsidies for retrofitting old buildings, improving and pushing mass public transit in cities, and develop more effective recycling methods.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that comes to mind is nuclear power generation. There's a lot of debate about whether nuclear is safe, responsible, or renewable. While I find nuclear very interesting, I'm not completely convinced it's "the" solution as many supporters claim. One of the biggest issues in my mind is nuclear waste. While nuclear does not work with fossil fuels, its fuel still causes issues. Spent nuclear fuel is highly radioactive and poses a danger to the environment and human life is not handled correctly. Methods of handling radioactive waste vary between countries, but the three main strategies tend to be storage, disposal, and reprocessing. For a few examples, the US only uses temporary storage, the UK uses storage and has plans to create a Geological Disposal Facility and France has a reprocessing system in addition to holding facilities. These all have their pros and cons, but I think that reprocessing is most promising when it comes to being renewable. This allows spent fuel to be processed, separated, and some parts recycled. This reduces the amount of waste in need of disposal and the amount of new fuel entering the cycle, both of which reduce the environmental impact of nuclear. I think that if anyone wants to include nuclear in the category of renewable energy, vast improvements must be made in the realm of fuel reprocessing.
ReplyDeleteUS Temporary Storage: https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML0501/ML050110277.pdf, https://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-storage/cis.html
DeleteUK Geological Disposal Facilities: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64ac62b5e1aab2001303acb9/NWS_GDF_Report2023_O15_SWAP.pdf
France Reprocessing: https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/frances-efficiency-in-the-nuclear-fuel-cycle-what-can-oui-learn
Raven, your points on nuclear power, especially regarding waste management and reprocessing, are compelling. Do you see a future where nuclear energy can be part of a renewable energy mix without the stigma currently attached to it?
DeleteThis technology seems so much both like a holy grail and something that we should try to phase out. I recently saw a really interesting video that discusses some of the issues and solvencies of this technology that also proposes solutions for recycling waste material into usable power in the United States. Here it is in case you wanted to give it a watch.
https://youtu.be/QzTgZ6kOEM8
I think one of the most important technologies that should be researched more and applied more is nuclear energy. Nuclear energy is almost completely green, extremely efficient, and a great middle ground while we develop other green energy sources. Modern nuclear reactors have already proved themselves as safe and efficient. Furthermore, it is not overly difficult to safely dispose of. The government already has many "spent rod pools" that safely store nuclear waste. Nuclear energy has been in development far longer than any other green energy source and while it might not be "the solution" to the climate crisis, it is definitely a solution and one we need to use more.
ReplyDeleteI think new technologies will help stop the climate crisis. However, I fear that it might be too late when making these technologies. But, it is our only choice now. We are not going to make climate change completely better, but decreasing it would be very nice. I also think that our technology we have now is advanced enough to help. The dangers when talking about new technologies is will it work? I feel like we know more about the technology we have now and maybe we can fix it into a way to helping this climate change, change. Here is an article I found about using our technology now to help prevent climate change https://www.nrdc.org/stories/how-you-can-stop-global-warming
ReplyDeleteSome research and classwork I have been a part of in the Engineering 102 curriculum is Nano-materials and how we can apply the technology in ways to assist in the climate change initiative. This includes carbon sequestration using nano materials in manufacturing and pollution dense locations.
ReplyDeleteI think it's really important to use technology for improving efficiency in methods of travel. We all know that transportation is one of the largest producers of CO2, and finding ways to limit that output is vital. Moving toward modern hybrid vehicles is a fairly realistic alternative to going all electric due to the lack of sufficient charging networks and mining concerns regarding how much lithium and cobalt would be required for that, as well as the energy inefficiency of recycling batteries.
ReplyDeleteI personally feel that new innovative technology is key to discovering ways to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. In my opinion, a good chunk of the reason we have such a large amount of greenhouse gas emissions is because of technology itself, and by using technology to solve its own issues, we feed two birds with one scone. If technology, that is never going to go away because our world relies on it heavily, was to explore new ways to make itself sustainable, I feel that our world could really have a breakthrough in cultivating a greener future that is more resilient.
ReplyDeleteThree new climate technologies that have just emerged this year include super-efficient solar cells, enhanced geothermal systems, and heat pumps (Crownhart, 2024). I feel that it is imperative to continue to develop innovations such as these to address the issues. Trying is better than giving up, and trying is the start of change.
Reference:
Crownhart, C. (2024, January 11). Three climate technologies breaking through in 2024. MIT Technology Review. Retrieved March 15, 2024, from https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/01/11/1086412/three-climate-technologies-breaking-through-in-2024/
I do agree that new, innovative, regenerative technologies are going to be crucial in mitigating GHG emissions and combatting climate change. However, I also think that it is a very delicate matter that will need to be handled in the best possible way. Often we see with new technologies that they solve one problem, but create another, so the total net improvement is really not much. For example, we can look at electric vehicles. EV's are advertised as being quite good for the environment, and the actual car itself is. But when we look at the production process of the car, we see that the ghg emissions that are produced during the production of the car actually diminish any improvements that come from the vehicle not running on fossil fuels. This shows us that while improvements are crucial to combatting climate change, it is very intricate process that will require a lot of attention to detail and policy that will truly create technologies that have positive net impacts.
ReplyDeleteKate, your caution about the unintended consequences of new technologies is well-founded. How do you propose we balance the urgency of innovation with the need for thorough evaluation of environmental impact? Do you have any more examples of such technology? As a society, should we embrace solutions that are 'green' in operation but create pollution / GHG emissions as a one-time cost? What are your thoughts on solar panels, electric vehicles, lithium ion batteries? How can we address the environmental impact of initial manufacturing? What about the fact that these all have limited lifespan? Do you know if these can be recycled?
DeleteSolving one problem leads to another issue in this day and age. Cutting down Greenhouse gases, we now have learned may tend to be harmful to our environment. New technologies are hurting our environment. An example connecting to the day and age today is Electronic Vehicles (EVs). Electronic vehicles are on their up and up and many believe they are "better for the environment". Breaking this down, the mission of making the EV car, such as obtaining battery production, is what goes into hurting the environment. Yes, we aren't putting toxins into our air, with normal gas-run cars, but we are mining and hurting the environment that way. The process of batter production requires mining, and breaking down habitats. But, at this point what will be less harmful to our environment and will technologies hurt or help in the future? I could go into detail for hours, about what is more hurtful and what is more helpful to the environment. Since, climate change is a major issue, one new idea may be affecting the world more than we believe? https://rmi.org/reality-check-more-evs-can-mean-fewer-emissions/?utm_source=google&utm_campaign=18654046274&utm_content=157000147346&utm_term=electric%20cars%20pollute%20more&utm_medium=686647804488&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw5v2wBhBrEiwAXDDoJa2ITbbXYf7J_mWWWJg7v78XGAPg8wKZoYDZU0geV-vkEcAC6a38jRoC3d4QAvD_BwE
ReplyDeleteAs seen in this article, breaks down my main point of how EVs may be affecting our future climate issues more than we know. But, this article also gives Myths and Truths about EV emissions and how EVs are helping more than Gas, but still can affect the climate.