As a kid, I was obsessed with science fiction TV shows. Star Trek, Doctor Who more. My inner geek loved these great stories.
They usually followed a standard plot. A terrible crisis unfolds, almost certain to bring them to the brink of destruction, but in the final minutes, our hero unveils an amazing technique that instantly solves the problem. Whether it was when Scotty worked his miracles on his USS Enterprise or when the Doctor used a sonic screwdriver, we were sure of one thing: He was the best. That means future technology will save the day.
When I was a child, I loved those stories. Part of me still does. And I sincerely hope that some new technological wonder will avert the global crisis of climate change and save us now. I would love to see our heroes swoop in and set phasers to decarbonize and remove greenhouse gases. Unfortunately, that won't happen. Today, as a scientist, I understand why.
The fundamental reason why high-tech solutions won't save us from climate change is simple: it's a matter of time. Time is definitely the most important variable and one of the things that technology can't give us more of. Climate change is a cumulative problem.
The warming we are seeing today is caused by the accumulation of greenhouse gas pollution in the Earth's atmosphere year after year, decade after decade. The severe climate change of 2023, including record temperatures, storms, fires, and other disasters, was not solely due to emissions in 2023. Nor are they caused by 2022 emissions. They were caused by our long-term cumulative emissions, accumulated over many years.
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Over the past few decades, we have been emitting large amounts of greenhouse gases, amounting to tens of billions of tons each year, adding up to an alarming amount of pollution being released into the atmosphere. The cumulative effects of that pollution have fundamentally changed our atmosphere and climate system.
The more we continue to emit greenhouse gases, the more this pollution accumulates in the atmosphere and the more climate heating it causes. This is a process that effectively locks in global warming for thousands of years to come. The only solution is to stop the pollution as soon as possible (and as safely and fairly as possible).
To avoid the worst consequences of climate change, we need to start reducing emissions immediately. By reducing emissions now and continuing to do so every year, we can reduce the future impacts of climate change. Starting today, you can reduce the amount of warming we see by emitting even one ton of greenhouse gases that we don't emit. Every ton counts. Every year is important.
Today's solutions for tomorrow's savings
That's why we need to focus on the solutions we already have. Despite what some people think, solutions to climate change already exist. In fact, today's solutions to climate change require vastly increased efficiency, reduced food waste, deforestation, and other destructive processes, electrified homes and vehicles, stopped oil and gas methane leaks, and zero carbon emissions. There are many options such as switching to. Energy source. My organization, Drawdown, is the world's leading resource for learning more.
Better yet, we should focus more on the fastest “de-emergency” climate solutions that have an immediate impact on the atmosphere and can immediately help reduce emissions.
Top such measures include halting deforestation (which accounts for about 11 percent of global emissions, more than the entire U.S. economy), curbing methane emissions (which have a disproportionately fast impact on the climate), This includes energy, food, and industrial waste reduction. as soon as possible.
These quick-acting climate solutions can buy time to launch other strategies, such as building new power generation systems, transmission lines, energy-efficient buildings, and transportation infrastructure.
The worst thing we can do is wait in hopes that a new and “better” solution will emerge to solve the problem. Waiting means we continue to spew pollution into the atmosphere and trap further warming. Waiting is the enemy of climate action.
At the COP28 conference in November, Bill Gates once again told the world that current technology cannot solve the worst of the climate crisis. But that's not true.
can. However, some of these solutions can be inconvenient or expensive. In most cases, you already have the tools you need. What we don't have is time. That's why we shouldn't wait for new technology.
Fusion is the future
Don't wait for fusion. Government research on fusion energy has been conducted since the 1950s, but has shown little substantial results. Despite rosy hype, decades of effort, and billions of dollars in spending, commercial energy sources are still years away. As the ironic saying goes, fusion energy is 20 years away…and it will always be.
Advanced nuclear power should not wait either. Nuclear power generation has stalled in many parts of the world, suffering long delays and cost overruns. Promises of better, cheaper, faster and safer nuclear power plants have been repeated for decades, but have never been fulfilled.
The last hyped technology, small modular reactors, has recently faced embarrassing delays and failures, casting doubt on the technology's commercial deployment. And we shouldn't wait for industrial carbon capture technology.
Despite decades of research and tens of billions of dollars of investment, such technologies remain incredibly ineffective at removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The project is still laughably small, extremely expensive, and consumes a lot of energy that could be better used elsewhere.
It is unlikely, if ever, that these technologies will have a significant impact on atmospheric quality for decades to come. For now, its only use is as a PR fig leaf for fossil fuel companies.
In the fight against climate change, it's very simple. Time is more important than technology. It is simply wrong to hope and wait for a solution that may never come. So for now, we must stop dreaming of being Captain Kirk or Doctor Who and start implementing the tools currently available.
There are science-backed solutions available to us today. And at the last moment he has no time to wait for what else science fiction will conjure up.
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