By Sophia Stylianos, Sidwell Friends School
In a world that is constantly changing and being destroyed due to human activity, we are led to wonder how we can help and when our time eventually will run out. While scientists continuously say that our time is coming, that we must change our ways. Sure, we have all heard the solutions– things such as electric cars, windmills and planting more trees– but what does a sustainable world really look like? We need a world where we aren’t just “reducing our carbon footprint” but actively living in unison with the earth without constantly destroying it. One of the biggest ways we are going to be able to reach a healthy world, both for our species and every other species, is through technology. Research is constantly being done to understand the environment; an example of this is ROVs, which are robots that explore marine life and ecosystems. But what if we go even deeper and start harnessing technology for the benefit of all living beings on this Earth?
We are constantly learning from the world around us and how nature actively preserves itself, so now it is our turn to contribute to that preservation. Trees have taught us carbon sequestration, birds have taught us about robot fire rescue systems, and wind has taught us there is energy everywhere, even in the air. A new technology that the University of California Berkeley is developing uses the muddy sea floors as a model for both harnessing energy and producing clean water. This wave carpet can absorb the energy waves have, which protects harbors and prevents erosion from happening within the ocean. The devices’ primary energy conversion creates seawater at high pressure, which is used to generate electricity for desalination and the distribution of freshwater and can even be used to balance the energy grid. Not only is this a way to harness and protect energy, but it would also generate wholesale power sales in excess of $50 billion a year.
From the bottom of the sea to the tips of our atmosphere, Penn State University is looking at carbon in a different way. Instead of simply reducing or capturing carbon, initiatives are being led that use a catalyst to rearrange and break apart the carbon of CO2. This carbon can then be used to create sustainable fuels, chemicals and materials that are traditionally produced from petroleum. Not only does this use up carbon emissions, but it turns it into a sustainable energy source. While we are used to the same solutions being presented over and over again, we need to start thinking outside the box. Ever since I was a little girl, I wondered why we couldn’t harness the pollutants going into the world as energy, instead of using even more energy to clean them up. Creating a symbiotic relationship involving both the Earth and humans is not only possible but will improve life and the efficiency of resources for many. As a growing society of innovation, opportunities continue to present themselves to us to create even more jobs while making the world a more beneficial place. So, from the carpets at the bottom of the seafloor to taking apart and rearranging atoms, there are endless possibilities for how to reimagine the world we live in to start helping and coexisting with it.
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