News reporters, all over the world, are crying out, “Climate Change is responsible for so much that is happening in many countries worldwide.”
But what is climate change and how does Technology can play it’s role in climate change? Climate change refers to the long term shifts in temperature and weather patterns and they affect us because they have alarming effects on things such as fresh water supplies, physical and mental health, natural ecosystems, loss of species, food production, and life itself. Though climate change first came on the global radar in the 1950s, and was practically ignored, it is one of the biggest environmental problems faced by humanity today. This concern is raised by the significant impacts of climate change in Pakistan on society, the environment, and the economy. Pakistan is no stranger to natural disasters such as cyclones, floods, and droughts. When these dangers are coupled with vulnerabilities like poverty, isolation, and poor government policies and actions, people are more open to the effects of these hazards. The recent torrential rains, causing the devastating flooding and land slides and sadly, the loss of life in many forms are directly related to the quickly growing problem of climate change.
Role of technology in climate change.
It is believed that technology has catalysed global growth in many ways. Sustained technological development has a profound implications on our growth and it can do wonders when utilised to reduce the negative effects of climate change. However, if we ruminate the cause of climate change, it won’t be surprising to see how climatic changes occur that too due to technology. Now technology is needed to counteract the negativities of technology. Here are a few measures to determine how technology is being incorporated to deal with the climate change.
Artificial intelligence of Things (AIoT)
Artificial intelligence of things aims at improving human-machine interaction, enhances data management and analytics. When specifically talking about climate change artificial intelligence of Things means to be vigilant about the potential happenings that can effect the climate and take proactive steps to fight the climate change. In the past, there was a mechanism of adaptation that was actually the response to an event that has already been occurred. But in contemporary world we need to anticipate the potential effects of climate change and need to take measures to mitigate them before they occur. It involves a good navigation system and informed decisions should be made to stay safe from the fatalities of the climate change. This would ensure the protection of most vulnerable among us. Besides this, it would bring forth a predictive stability in economy when the events would be managed through proper planning and not bearing the burden of disaster with no prior prediction.
Carbon capture, usage and storage.
Carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS) is a group of technologies that aims at managing the climate change as a result of carbon emission. They work by capturing carbon dioxide emissions before compressing and transporting it to be stored where it cannot contribute to climate change. It is actually based on the concept of decarbonising the fossil fuels power stations. It is the time of incorporate CCUS in other heavy industries such as iron, steel and cement, producing hydrogen or combining green House gasses by combining CCS with bioengineering known as BECCS.
Read More: Catastrophic impacts of climate change around the World – About Pakistan
Using hydrogen
Hydrogen is a flammable gas and it doesn’t produce carbon when burnt unlike natural fossil gases. It is currently being used as chemical feedstock in industries but its usage needs to be expanded to other sectors as well to decarbonise them. It can be done by making it a source of heat in industries, homes and vehicles that are the largest sources of carbon emission. Though it is an effective way to reduce carbon emission but it has not been accomplished yet due to its high cost.
Electric Batteries
Bringing electric batteries into common practice has become a dire need of the time. Vehicles that could be run on electric batteries could play a vital role in reducing the negative effects of climate change and further damage could be prevented. Other than using electric batteries in vehicles industries and homes should use electricity storing batteries that would store electricity from rooftop solar panels and by shifting the timing of electricity demands away from peak hours.
Introduction of Bill Gates’ Sun dimming technology
One of the common impacts of climate change are rising global temperatures on land and sea causing loss of land, sea level rise, erosion of the lands and I am sure we will continue to witness more unless we do better to help our planet. The suns rays are being trapped and reflected back to earth causing what seems to be a warming of our land and water by increasing the temperature of these. This is having catastrophic consequences for our planet and its systems. To deal with this global problem technologies are being developed to reflect the sun rays by injecting non toxic calcium carbonate into the stratosphere that would reflect the sunlight and cause a cooling effect. The project is backed by Microsoft Billionaire, Bill Gates. However, this technology hasn’t been practiced yet as the scientists fear that it will effect the Earth in an unforeseen way, including unpredictable shift in weather patterns which would not be mitigated well due to their low predictability.
Effects of climate change around the globe.
Climate change does not only affect our country of Pakistan. Droughts and fires across the once rich lands of the U.S., Australia and Africa are a direct result of this phenomena and the hurricanes now sweeping the country of Canada are bringing chaos and havoc to this once peaceful weathered country! Once unheard of, earthquakes are now shaking the western countries of our planet. Countries in Europe, once home to beautiful cruise ships no longer can accommodate these because there is not enough water in their rivers and ski slopes that once brought tourists to other countries for adventure are but grassy hills due to the temperature rise melting even the glaciers!
Conclusion
Now is it too late or can we behave responsibly and bring our planet back in balance? Yes, there are ways that we can help!
Simply put, we can switch to more greener forms of energy, such as the use of solar panels, wind turbines, and hydro power. We must make this change away from the use of fossil fuels such as coal and oil. We can move to electric vehicles for transportation thus eliminating the use of crude oil. If we are to save our planet these changes are now a necessity and a responsibility of all concerned!
