Combating Climate Change using technology

Temperature, wind, air pressure, humidity, and rain patterns over a long period define our climate. Around the world, there are several climates such as tropical, arid, and mild.

Seasons and when they come and leave are determined by an area’s climate. As a result, the kind of plants that grow and the animals that survive are affected. The animals and places we care about are reliant on complex ecosystems, and even minor changes in the temperature can upset nature’s delicate equilibrium. Every part of our lives as humans is dependent on the natural world. The food we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink, the clothes we wear, and the things we use all fall into this category.

Climate change has a wide range of effects on human life and health. It jeopardizes the foundations of human health – clean air, safe drinking water, nutritious food, and secure shelter – and has the potential to reverse decades of global health progress.

Climatic change refers to a long-term alteration in global or regional climate trends. The term “climate change” is often used to describe the increase in global temperatures from the mid-twentieth century to the present. It’s also a long-term change in a location’s temperature and typical weather patterns. Climate change can refer to a specific place or the entire world. Weather patterns may become less predictable as a result of climate change.

Because projected temperature and rainfall levels can no longer be relied upon, these unpredictable weather patterns might make it difficult to maintain and develop crops in farming-dependent regions.

Climate change is anticipated to result in an additional 250,000 deaths per year between 2030 and 2050, owing to starvation, malaria, diarrhoea, and heat stress. By 2030, the direct expenses of health harm are expected to reach between USD 2-4 billion per year.

When it comes to environmental degradation, technology is seen as part of the problem or part of the solution. From cars, trains and planes to household appliances such as microwave ovens, laptops and TVs, technology has become an indispensable part of our daily lives. It should be recognized that science and technology are considered to contribute to the progress and socio-economic development of a country.

Climate change and its worldwide consequences are considered as a top priority, particularly in places of the world where people cannot afford the infrastructural improvements needed to combat the problem.

SOME CAUSES OF CLIMATE CHANGE

Many of the causes of climate change have nothing to do with the Earth’s system. Others are part of the Earth’s system, but they do not exist in the atmosphere. Others are referred to as Earth system feedbacks because they include interactions between the atmosphere and other Earth system components.

1.  Variability In The Sun:Since its inception, the Sun’s luminosity, or brightness, has constantly increased. This is significant for Earth’s climate because the Sun provides the energy that drives air circulation and is a source of heat for the planet’s heat budget. The Sun’s energy output does not remain constant over time, and this has an impact on our climate.

2.  CO2 (Carbon Dioxide): Carbon dioxide is emitted by natural processes such as respiration and volcano eruptions, as well as by human activity such as deforestation, land-use changes, and fossil fuel combustion. Humans have raised CO2 levels in the atmosphere by 48% since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The most important long-term “forcing” of climate change is this.

3.  Methane:A hydrocarbon gas created both by natural sources and human activities, including the decomposition of wastes in landfills, agriculture, and especially rice cultivation, as well as ruminant digestion and manure management linked with domestic cattle. Methane is a lot more active greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide molecule for molecule, but it is also far less plentiful in the atmosphere.

4.  Eruptions of Volcanoes:Plate tectonic processes lead continents to shift to different positions on the Earth over extended periods. For example, during the Carboniferous Period, some 300 million years ago, Britain was close to the equator, and the climate was warmer than it is today. Volcanoes and mountains are formed as a result of plate movement, and these can contribute to climate change. Large mountain chains can have an impact on air circulation around the world, and hence on climate.

Mountains, for example, may deflect warm air to colder places. The gases and particles (tephra/ash) spewed into the atmosphere by volcanoes have an impact on the climate. Depending on how sunlight interacts with volcanic material, the influence of volcanic gases and dust may warm or chill the Earth’s surface. Large volumes of volcanic gas, aerosol droplets, and ash are emitted during significant explosive volcanic eruptions.

5.  Changes in Land Cover: Deforestation, for example, decreases vegetation cover, increasing local albedo and causing surface cooling. Albedo is the quantity of light that a surface reflects rather than absorbs. Dark surfaces have a low albedo, whereas bright surfaces have a high albedo. Ice with snow has a high albedo, reflecting nearly all of the solar light it receives. The albedo of land covered in dark-coloured vegetation is expected to be low, absorbing the majority of the radiation.

1.  Wind turbines and solar panels:Solar panels and wind turbines convert the sun’s and wind’s energy into power while emitting no greenhouse gases. The cost of these technologies has decreased as they have scaled up and transformed energy more effectively, making them cheaper than fossil fuels globally.

“The fact that solar and wind energy are inexpensive, reliable, and perform well opens up a lot of options,” said Gregory Nemet, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who wrote a book about how solar energy became affordable.

2.  Batteries for cars:The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences bestowed the Nobel Prize on three scientists for their work in inventing lithium-ion batteries, which they claim have “revolutionized our lives” since their introduction in 1991 — and continue to do so. Lithium batteries are lighter and smaller than older rechargeable batteries, and they may also be charged faster and more frequently.

As their weight and price decrease, they are becoming more important in decarbonizing the transportation sector by making electric vehicles more affordable. “Battery storage will be important,” said Joao Gouveia, a senior fellow at Project Drawdown, a climate solutions research organization.

3.  Smart Transportation:As part of vehicle systems, road infrastructure, management and operational strategies, smart transportation systems can be fully integrated into the broader transport ecosystem. These systems can have an impact on attempts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions both directly and indirectly. To mention a few, in-vehicle systems, drivers can optimize their travel routes and avoid accidents during their journey by employing satellite navigation systems, which improves the overall efficiency of the transportation ecosystem. Similarly, eco-driving technologies in vehicles provide trip information to drivers, assisting them in reducing fuel use and associated costs.

4.  Environmental Rehabilitation:The University of Cambridge’s Climate Repair Center is exploring a range of options to address the damage caused by human pollution. One of their suggestions is to refreeze the poles by illuminating the clouds above them and effectively spraying small amounts of salt in the sky to help the clouds reflect radiation into space. Another idea has been to “green” the oceans by fertilizing them to increase the growth of plant materials and algae, which could absorb more CO2.

5.  Energy Efficiency In The Home:The most effective technical solution to climate change will be to cut overall energy use, and nothing will do this more effectively than making homes more energy-efficient. Many of the newest options on the market are capable of cutting household spending by hundreds of pounds per year, demonstrating that the technology to do so currently exists. Many of the newest options on the market are capable of cutting household spending by hundreds of pounds per year, demonstrating that the technology to do so currently exists.

Many of the newest options on the market are capable of cutting household spending by hundreds of pounds per year, demonstrating that the technology to do so currently exists.

While individual energy savings from design innovations for these home items may be tiny, they have the potential to scale and have a considerable influence on energy consumption over a year for a household, and even more so across all households in a country.

Climate change is without a doubt one of the most pressing issues of our day. The concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has risen dramatically in the previous 150 years, particularly carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. We know that these gases hasten climate change by trapping heat in the atmosphere, resulting in a rise in global average temperature.

The nature and scope of innovations that reduce the cost and/or improve the efficiency of environmental regulations are highly influenced by government initiatives at all levels.

Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us»