Renewable Energy: All Talk?

With so many ways to cut back on carbon pollution, why aren’t we?

“12 years left...” I have been hearing that a lot lately — in political discussions, Sustainable Development classes, and on social media. It is a hot topic, particularly energised by America’s left-wing politicians (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez comes to mind). To many, this is a political issue; I don’t think so.

Climate scientists say we have 12 years left before we hit the 1.5°C rise in temperature that the Paris Accord warned us about. Politicians use this as ammo for pushing their green agenda. While there is scientific merit to this prediction, there is always a healthy amount of skepticism one should retain. Over a decade ago, former Vice-President Al Gore was touting that the world only had 10 more years until we went over the tipping point — yet here we are with another dozen years to go. While there may be disagreement over this doomsday timeline, however, it is clearly coming.

Even if the Earth does not become completely uninhabitable in 12 years, we are all still affected. Even those of us in favourable areas (away from coastlines and more arid zones) are already suffering inconveniences: avid scuba divers will be heartbroken to know that over half of the Great Barrier Reef has died since 2016; skiers are faced with unpredictably warm winters and deadly storms — all of which will continue to grow in intensity.

Luckily — or so one would think — renewable energy has made great strides in recent years. Unfortunately, many politicians appear to see climate change more as a way to garner attention than a deadly trend they want to combat. Many of the improvements in renewable energy technologies should be more widespread.

Small communities have been able, in some cases, to go carbon-neutral. Dubai — possibly the world’s most unnatural city — went from desert to a conglomerate of fake islands, harbours, and skyscrapers in just a few decades. In 2006 it boasted of the most carbon pollution per capita. In spite of this, it includes a carbon-neutral town, Sustainable City, which spans 113 acres, and has 500 villas, nearly 100 apartment buildings, and over 1 million feet of office and retail space. If a zero-carbon town can exist in an area as inhospitable as the desert, it can ostensibly be reproduced even even more easily in other places.

Renewable energy is not just beneficial to our environment: it offers great energy solutions for developing countries. Several companies, for instance, make products to utilise water for energy. Enomad is a cheap portable hydrogenator that can fit in a backpack and be placed in streams, or even dragged behind a kayak in order to build up a charge to power a phone. Even large-scale, prefabricated hydrogenators are available and only require a small stream with a slight change in elevation. Turbulent offers just such devices; they can provide up to 15 kW of power, and can be assembled within a few days of unskilled labor. One of their projects powers a 400-student school in Bali, and a local farm. Even if one is skeptical of climate change, the power of renewable energy can be highly valuable to rural or developing communities.

Whether or not the planet cuts down on emissions, a lot of damage has been done. Again, there are companies making strides in this department. Swiss company Climeworks creates filters that suck carbon out of the air. Their product claims to be 400 times more efficient than afforestation, uses no water, and is relatively affordable. Catalytic Innovations turn carbon dioxide and water into usable biofuel to replace other harmful products. Several groups are making headway towards reducing pollution.

While society continues to pump harmful greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, we seem to be more obsessed with talking about the problem than solving it. Entrepreneurs and academia have done more to mitigate this than governments. People have shrieked at the impending doom for years, yet there are clear improvements that industry is not pouring enough resources into. Politicians need to stop using “Green” as an election sound-bite, and not only make real investments in the field, but use the technology already at our disposal.

Renewable Energy: All Talk?

With so many ways to cut back on carbon pollution, why aren’t we?

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