Four innovations that could slow climate change
The latest technology is key to health
Climate change has never been more front and center in global initiatives. Slowly, our carbon-heavy lifestyles are beginning to shift. When it comes to the health of our families, we want access to the latest technology to help protect them, like the state-of-the-art Coway home health products. But what is technology’s role in protecting the health of the planet? Here are four innovations that energy experts say could seriously slow climate change.
1. The big players: solar and wind
They’ve been around for decades, but recent advancements have made solar panels and wind turbines more efficient and more effective. So much so, that the average cost of solar or wind power is now cheaper than fossil fuels. But generating clean energy is only one hurdle. The real challenge is storing and distributing that energy.
2. Batteries and electric vehicles
Lithium-ion batteries are lighter and smaller than earlier rechargeable batteries. They can also be charged faster and more often. These are the energy generators used in electric vehicle fleets around the world, which passed five million cars in 2018.
3. Power-to-x
Engineers have discovered another way to store renewable energy that may surpass batteries in efficiency and cost. The process known as power-to-x uses electrolyzers to extract hydrogen from water. Engineers run an electric current through water and collect the extra hydrogen molecules to us as fuel. These can be burned for heat, stored in fuel cells or turned into chemicals such as methane for processes that require fossil fuels.
4. Carbon capture
Scientists say we need to also remove some of the CO2 we already emitted in order to face climate change head-on. Some companies have experimented with capturing CO2 from power plants and storing it underground. By doing this with biomass plants, where recently-grown plant matter is used instead of burning fossil fuels, power is produced while reducing the amount of emissions.
The solution is in sight
The technology exists. Still, it’s going to take a lot of teamwork and political maneuvering in order to implement these technologies at a wide enough scale to fight climate change.
For climate action, you can do your part from home, too. And, at the least, you can ensure you’re using the latest tech to breathe cleaner air and drink cleaner water with the Airmega air purifier and the Aquamega water purifier.
