Trends in Sustainable Technology
Author: Mokshit Batra
They say that all problems can be solved through technology. Now, that may not necessarily be true for a lot of things, but when we talk about sustainability, technology has lent a huge helping hand.
I don’t need to tell you repeatedly how climate change is harming our environment, how our icebergs are melting due to global warming and how terrible the world is in all other ways.
As I like to say, problem talk creates problems, solution talk creates solutions. So instead of wasting our time by continuously going over how horrible everything is, let us discuss how technology might be solving this problem so that our future looks just a little bit brighter.
What is Clean Technology?
Simply put, clean technology is any technological advance made with the intention to reduce or preferably eliminate any negative environmental impacts, promote sustainability and reduce global warming.
Everything from a bamboo toothbrush to an electric vehicle can be classified as clean technology.
You see hundreds of examples of clean technology in your everyday life. Let us talk about some of the bigger players in clean technology who are leading the way in the fight against climate change.
LED lights and alternate methods of energy
I am sure you have LED lights set up in your house. These lights often go unnoticed but are some of the biggest contributors to fighting climate change. By the year 2030, these lights will have reduced 40% of energy consumption by themselves. That number is humongous.
Alternate methods of energy have become prevalent in the last decade or so and show no signs of slowing down.
Solar and wind energy are two of the cleanest energy sources we have. As the technology becomes more and morereadily available and cheaper, the usage of these technologies seems to be shootinh up.
Many households install solar panels for their electrical consumption requirements which also proves to be cheaper for them in the long run. This will start to be cheaper as the price of solar panels comes down.
Hydroponics
Hydroponics is something that you may not have heard about. That is not to say that these don’t play a huge role in reducing the impacts of climate change.
Agriculture is already a great contributor to global warming.
Hydroponics is an eco-innovation in which crops are grown without the use of soil and instead with the use of nutrient-rich water.
The hydroponics technology takes up less space, enables crops to be grown anywhere and even uses less water. There are also no seasonal limitations when it comes to this technology.
It is to be noted that this method is extremely expensive, especially when compared to traditional farming This has been a major challenge in implementing the technology on a larger scale.
Plastic Recycling
I’m sure you already know about the importance of recycling. It seems like everybody puts a great deal of stress on recycling. That is not for no reason.
More than 250 million tons of plastic are generated every single year. Out of this, only 16 percent of it gets recycled. That is less than 40 million tons of plastic that is recycled.
Larger amounts of plastic being recycled will mean that a lesser amount of plastic will be generated in the subsequent years. This will have a drastic impact when it comes to reducing climate change.
I’m sure you have seen the horrifying videos of tons and tons of plastic being found in the ocean, even to the point where plastic straws are found stuck in the noses of turtles and plastic is found in stomachs of many sea animals.
Recycling helps with a lot of this plastic being resued instead of ending up in oceans or dumps.
Electric Transportation
The effects of transportation are something that we take very lightly. Just imagine the number of people who commute to and fro from work every single day, in their own private car, each one creating more and more pollution.
This is the reason you are often advised to use public transport or cycle to work.
Electric Transportation has been a great help in this battle. Electric vehicles are on the rise and are expected to replace all carbon-emitting vehicles within the next few decades.
This greatly reduces the impact of cars on the environment, even if a lot of people take their own car to work.
Of course, electric transportation is not just limited to cars. Its being seen in bigger vehicles like trucks as well as public transport like electric trains.
Many water vehicles are also being made electric.
Blockchain
I bet this is not something you expected to see in an article like this. I know it seems like we cannot go anywhere these days without hearing or reading about blockchain technology, cryptocurrency, NFTs and web 3.0 in general.
Several studies indicate that blockchain technology could lead to fulfilling environment sustainable development goals by supporting the realization of a sustainable supply chain, improving energy efficiency and promoting the creation of secure and reliable smart cities.
It is interesting to see how blockchain is changing our lives in more ways than we can imagine.
