Content related to Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Everyone will be impacted by climate change, which means that everyone needs to be part of the solution. The problem is that some businesses and countries aren’t ready to have that conversation yet. Thanks to growing frustrations with the slow progress at COP, over 50 countries gathered in Colombia this April to begin planning a decisive and collaborative transition away from fossil fuels.
Renewables are becoming more affordable, reliable, and quick to deploy compared to fossil fuel generation, making them a critical part of meeting growing energy demand without compromising greenhouse gas mitigation efforts. Although we’re expected to see peak fossil fuel use in the coming decade, many experts point out that we’re still not transitioning quickly enough to avoid the worst of the climate impacts.
Just about one century ago, airships were rising to prominence as the luxury option for long-haul travel. Today, some companies are touting airships as a climate-friendly alternative to airplanes. We may be set to see a renaissance for this slower, more intentional means of travel, but we also need to consider unseen and upstream costs that can still contribute significantly to its carbon footprint.
Is it possible to reduce our resource consumption without abandoning a certain quality of life? The 2000 Watt Society thinks so. I first encountered this group in a near-term climate fiction novel following the lives of people trying to avoid the worst of climate change impacts. A recent trip to Switzerland showed me it can be done better than we’re doing it back home.
A friend recently warned me against using my electric blanket. While there are established risks (including burns and fires), she was talking about health conditions that could be caused by electromagnetic fields. Hypothesizing about health impacts from environmental exposures can walk a fine line between conscientious public health research and pseudoscience. The difference between the two lies in what we do with answers we get.
We use AI for countless tasks in our daily lives, but different activities have different carbon footprints. Analyzing and creating content uses a lot more energy than a simple internet search, and we’re relying on AI for more of that over time. That isn’t good for our brains or the environment, especially since we’re building more fossil fuel-powered data centers to meet growing demand.
Our search results shape how we view the world, and (with nearly 90% market share) Google shapes our search results. Data privacy has been a major criticism of Google for years, but the objectivity and accuracy of the results should be a concern too. With AI-generated overviews to take the place of doing our own research, we’re more susceptible than ever to groupthink.
The extra energy required for Artificial Intelligence to process pleasantries, such as “please” and “thank you,” apparently costs tens of millions of dollars, to say nothing of the environmental impact of generating that energy. Whether the query results are improved or the AI will deign to spare kind humans in the upcoming revolution, it seems there are some arguments in favor of being polite.
Physics, cooking, energy efficiency, and public health: so many of my passions are the ingredients of this blog post about our new induction cooktop. Magnetic induction cooking equipment has recently been getting cheaper, more accessible, and more popular, but it has long been safer, cleaner, and more energy efficient than the conventional alternatives, such as gas flames and electric coils.
Travels with the Climate Lab took me to Okinawa for the first (but hopefully not last) time. This Japanese prefecture (and former kingdom in its own right) is an absolute melting pot of cultures, disciplines, and functions in society. For someone who is regularly trying to break down silos in my own work, I was thrilled to see what lessons Okinawa had to offer.